Is it really the end of everything?
by iolar abu
Summary: Katara has been kidnapped...but not by Zuko? Will she face her future with her head high or fail to forgive the man who hurt her so badly? In this lifechanging adventure, destiny itself is being challenged. Zutara. Alternative Storyline. ON HIATUS
1. Katara captured

**EDIT**: THIS CHAPTER WAS REVAMPED. THE WHOLE FIC IS UNDERGOING THE SAME PROCESS, SO PLEASE INGNORE ANY LAPSES IN QUALITY. THANK YOU!

This is my first fanfiction ever, so I would appreciate criticism, whether good or bad.

AU (Alternative Universe), with some swearing, cursing, and themes that might be too deep for younger children. But of course, that is relative to the level of maturity of said reader, so I trust you all to make your own decision.

Disclaimer: I don't own A:TLA.

* * *

**Is it really the end of everything?**

Katara was visibly shaking with laughter. A smile was plastered on her face, and her cheeks were starting to hurt, from the happily contorted position in which they had been stuck in for the last couple minutes. This was the first time in many long months that she had laughed with such abandon. The tension that had been plaguing the members of the Gaang was dissolving along with Katara's retenue. All the furious thoughts she had had about Sokka had completely vanished, as by magic. It was rather funny, once you stopped to think about it. The source of all this amusement would have been rather incongruous if it hadn't been tense before. After all, if she hadn't been mad at Sokka, he wouldn't have had to try to mend his own socks. And Katara wouldn't have seen him in a rather…embarrassing, to say the least, position… She had to admit that she was (vaguely), even if she would never admit it to anyone, thankful.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo Flashback oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

It had all started that morning, when Katara had woken up in a terrible mood. She got up and went to the stream close to their camp to start washing the clothes that they had been wearing. This had been her responsibility ever since the beginning of their quest, and no one had ever thought that she would like to have the odd morning off. It was while pondering these thoughts that she came upon a sister's worse nightmare: her brother's dirty socks. And not only were they dirty. They stank, like putrid mounds of decaying cheese. The mere sight of them made her stomach heave.

'_Honestly… Why do his feet have to be so stinky? And how does he manage to get all of these umm…unidentifiable substances on his socks, when they're always IN his shoes?! Then, of course, there's no way that he could ever try to clean them the slightest bit before handing them over to me. I just have to deal with these pieces of half-decomposed cloth! He probably doesn't even notice when I clean them, being so used to living in his squalor! He's never thanked me. Not one single time!' _

Thoughts and images of Sokka's growing laziness flashed in front of her eyes. This only served to fuel her resentment. Both boys hadn't been of any help, and neither seemed to notice the amount of work that it took her to keep things running smoothly. They obviously seemed to think that it was the "easy" work, and that they were giving her the lightest load of all. Her thoughts thundered on, growing in both anger and force.

'_What does he think I am…his slave? Not only does he not offer to help me, he seems to be doing everything to make this harder. As if my being a girl would is an excuse for him being lazy. "No Katara, I won't do that because it's woman's work." Pfff… As if he could do half of what I do on a daily basis! If he hadn't noticed, I keep them fed and clean, which is more than what either one could do in a million years! And then, he gets all protective, and says that he doesn't want me to do the dangerous stuff, like hunting, because I might get hurt, and I'm his little sister, and he goes on and on and on! He's not Dad! No matter what, my actions and I are none of his business! _

_I'd be twice the hunter he is, and he knows it! Ugh…Why do boys have to be so useless!! Honestly, I could almost save the world alone. Neither one of them could go for a week without food, since they seem to think that women are some kind of cooking machines! And sew mistresses, and maids, all rolled into one! But ask a man to do even a little thing, and he'll blow up on you. Then call you bitchy because you wanted help doing five things at once!_

_I can't take it anymore. I need at least some kind of break…We-e-e-ell…Neither of them are up yet. And probably won't be for at least a while.'_ She smiled.

And promptly dropped the sock that she had been glaring at. Sick and tired of the way that both of her traveling companions treated her like a doormat, never questioning why she was the one who ended up doing all the practical things, excluding of course, the "manly" art of hunting. Of course, it wasn't manly to carry three times one's weight in water, but killing animals who had never done anything wrong, that was the exact definition of man power.

It didn't seem to ever have occurred to them that she might be a bit tired of doing everyone's chores, without ever getting a simple "thank you" in return. That getting a fire ready so they could have something to eat wasn't half as much fun as going swimming, jumping off cliffs into pools of water and lazing in the sun. That getting up before the sun to go wash clothes was definitively not the best way to have enough patience to be alert and in perfect shape, day after day, especially after going to sleep long after sunset to clean up after the precedent day's supper.

So she joyously left their clothes, all still soaking wet, on the shore of the river, and walked back to camp, bringing only her own clean, dry and impeccable clothes and personal effects with her. Once she arrived, both boys were awake (unfortunately) and were waiting, half-asleep, for her to make them breakfast. This only made her sharp feeling of resentment grow stronger.

The thought of getting themselves something to eat had obviously not even crossed their small, unresponsive minds. Of course, neither of them had volunteered to go do the laundry, so she couldn't be at two places at the same time, making breakfast and getting them clothes that were in a wearable state. True to their usual, unhelpful selves, they hadn't noticed that Appa couldn't load, feed and groom himself, that their clothes weren't self-cleaning, that food didn't just appear out of nowhere, and that their fire didn't just make wood appear out of nowhere.

With a roll of her eyes, she packed her things into her small, organized bag and pulled out the ingredients for a very simple porridge out of her food pouch. They had just stocked up on grain, so they would be good for a while. She bent some water out of her pouch, and into the pot where she had put the grains. She added a bit of the small bag of sugar they had, and added some logs to the fire. All her actions had a slow, deliberateness about them, as she tried to hide the anger that she could feel start to growl at the back of her head.

But when Sokka told her to hurry up because he was getting hungry, it was the last straw. With a sweeping movement, Katara bent some water out of the steam rising from the porridge, and froze Sokka's mouth in place, with just a bit more strength than necessary. She bent a bowl of porridge for herself out of the pot, doused the fire and walked away, almost steaming. It only served to infuriate her that her own attitude was almost as disgustingly inappropriate as theirs. The two bewildered boys just sat there, looking after her, exchanging from time to time completely bewildered gazes.

She walked for a while, until she arrived at a pool. There, she stripped down to her underclothes, and jumped into the water. It felt so good…Peaceful, undisturbed by whatever moved through it, adapting and accepting everything. Moving on, long after the ones who had visited it had passed on. Streams always made her feel so at peace with herself… The sun was coming out, and the sky was a brilliant blue. A day for reconstructing one's soul. The anger that she had felt earlier had completely seeped out, leaving her in a calm and serene state of mind.

When the sun began to set, she regretfully set back for camp, ready to face the frustrating anger that her companions were surely going to push in her face. After all, they just didn't understand. That didn't mean that she couldn't have revenge, but it _did_ mean that she should probably find something better to get angry about next time, if she wanted another nice and peaceful day off. But the growling of her stomach reminded her that she did need to eat something. _'Well, that gives me a reason to go back!'_

And it was as she entered the clearing where they had set up camp that she had seen her brother, lying on the ground, holding her spare bone needle in one hand, and his heaviest socks (that he had evidently ended up finding near the river, probably with Aang's help). From what she could see in the dimming light, he had somehow managed to tie himself up with the heavy string (she supposed that it could almost be considered rope) so tightly that he couldn't even think of moving from his spot on the ground.

Aang was nowhere to be seen, but she was too intent on laughing without bursting her lungs to notice anything out of the ordinary. He obviously couldn't budge. Katara was starting to get lightheaded from the lack of oxygen that her overwhelming laughter had caused. She was breathless, and the expression "side-splitting laughter" was starting to make a bit too much (painful) sense in her opinion. Her laughter eventually dwindled into giggles, as she sank to her knees, weak from her laughing fit. It was such a rare thing, on such a beautiful day, that she was actually considering sewing Sokka's socks up again, just as payment for the entertainment he had provided.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo End of Flashback oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Wiping tears from her eyes, Katara struggled back onto her feet. She then made her way to help her unfortunate brother. She walked across the clearing, laughter slowly dying down. She gasped a couple times, then bent down beside her brother with a smirk covering her face. Then, panic seized her mind. He still hadn't moved. And as far as she could tell, his chest wasn't moving. She could feel her heart beat accelerating at an insane rate, as if it wanted to beat straight out of her chest.

Sokka still wasn't moving. It wasn't like him, to stay so still when she, of all people, was openly mocking him. Something was wrong. Very wrong. She reached down, to try to shake him awake. Her hands froze an inch above his shoulders. She had just glanced towards his face, and had seen his eyes, open, unblinking, staring up blankly at the sky. A jolt went through her heart.

Terrified, she touched his shoulder, hesitantly. She immediately shrunk away in terror. His body was cold. So cold. Lifelessly cold. _'Sokka's… Sokka's dead…' _She didn't even have time to process it. A hand closed on her face, blocking her attempt to scream. Something hit her _very _hard on the head, and she crumpled. Fighting the wave of blackness, she managed to pick, through the pain that was clouding her mind, a couple words.

"The Avatar won't come after her. Bri.. her to the….."

Katara fought desperately, trying to stay awake, to hear what she wasn't supposed to, but she slowly lost her grip on consciousness. The word seemed to blur at the edges, then she slipped into unconsciousness, without a sound.

* * *

Well, that was Chapter 1. I hope that you don't want to murder me yet.

Thanks for reading! Please review, since you obviously already did the reading part if you're reading this... XD

xxx Peace out!


	2. Zuko caught

Okay, this is chapter 2! Thanks to everyone who reviewed chapter 1! Anyways, I promise that this story will get way less depressing….and remember, things aren't always what they seem! (I have wanted to put that in a story for almost FORVEVER! Yay, I did it!)

**Disclaimer: **Nope, this hasn't changed since last chapter, I still don't own Avatar. I'll even say it in French to make you happy. Avatar ne m'appartient pas. Too bad… (sigh)

Here goes…

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Prince Zuko was almost crazed with anger: against himself, against his troops, against his uncle… He had let himself be caught like a beginner, without even catching a glimpse of his attacker. It went against every thing he had learned, or at least, against everything that he had thought he had finally understood.

He cursed himself mentally for having moved during his anger crisis against himself. The burning fire that he could feel on the burn that covered the left side of his chest had just become stronger. He could still feel the pain. The searing agony that had wracked his body as his captor had burnt him was back. He repressed the reflex of moaning in pain and bit his lip to try to shut out some of the pain.

Tasting blood, he stopped. The pain had reluctantly regressed to a dull ache and he looked around the small room of which he was lying on the floor. It was very small, with no furniture at all. His pain-clouded brain took a few moments to notice that everything was made of metal. The ship had to be Fire Nation, or at least Fire Nation-made. There was nothing else that he could gather from the room so he stared around aimlessly for a few moments before his brain decided to make him think of the one thing he didn't want to remember: how he had gotten into this mess.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOo Flashback oOoOoOoOoOoOoO

It had all started as an ordinary day: practicing firebending, running after the Avatar, ordering the crew and his uncle around… It was about midday and they were getting low on supplies so Prince Zuko had ordered the crew to stop at the next village. He wanted to make the stop as short as possible so they could continue their search for the Avatar without too much delay. However, he hadn't planned that a storm would break out.

Grumbling at the weather, Zuko, his uncle and the three soldiers who had come ashore took shelter at a full but good-humoured inn. The innkeeper, a roundling woman in her thirties, came to greet them as soon as they entered.

"Hello my Lords. It isn't that we don't appreciated your coming here but I am truly sorry to tell you that we have no rooms left for you to spend the night in. All my excuses, but unless you choose to buy a meal, I will have to ask you to leave."

During her speech, Iroh had seen his nephew grow more and more tense. Before the teenager had time to say anything, the retired general spoke up.

"Thank you, fair lady." At this, the woman flushed slightly. "Are you sure that you would not have an empty stable where five tired travelers could rest during the storm?"

The patron looked around thoughtfully then nodded and led them to a dark stable in the corner of the barn. She departed soon after, leaving them a half-empty lantern.

Iroh looked around them and said "This seems like a prefect place to spend the night." And with that, he turned out the lantern. Zuko grumbled at him then lied down angrily, cursing the Water Goddess for making it rain. Sometimes, it seemed as if the whole world was against him. Somehow, his thoughts ended up on the little waterbender who traveled with the Avatar.

He truly loathed her for even daring to fight him, the Fire Prince. How dare she? But he had to admit to himself that there had been something that had happened during their fight in the North Pole that had made it seem…magical. Yes, that was the right word. Even as he had fought her, he had felt at peace with himself. For a handful of seconds, all the hatred and anger, all the bitterness and fear that he had felt since his banishment had simply dissolved.

It was as he was wrestling with his thoughts and emotions that his captors had attacked. He had been so deeply lost in the inner workings of his mind that he was caught completely unaware. The only reason that he hadn't attacked at once was the he had felt fire on his left side.

"Don't move, hissed a voice, or I'll burn you to a crisp." Zuko froze. He hadn't even felt the smallest sense of recognition at the sound of his attacker's voice. But all rational thought had flown out of his head as soon as he felt the left side of his body be set on fire. He screamed in pain and knew no more.

After what seemed like days later, he had awoken in his prison cell. He didn't even have a vague notion of time to comfort him since, like in any Fire Nation ship, the cells were windowless.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO End of Flashback oOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Suddenly he emerged from his memories. He could hear footsteps coming his way. Someone or something was making its way towards his cell. But to his surprise, the owner of the footsteps passed his cell without stopping. They seemed to stop at another one close to his. There was silence for a moment, only broken by Zuko's erratic breathing. Then there was a crash and the footsteps started up again, this time fading softly in the distance.

Suddenly, he heard a noise that made him turn his head towards the wall between his cell and the other. He could make out a voice. The words sent shivers up his spine.

"Hello? Is anyone else here? Please answer me! Is there anyone else! Please, talk to me. Please, answer me! Is there nobody else? Hello?"

He froze. He had recognised the voice coming from the other side of the wall. It was like a distant memory finally coming forth. He remembered where he had already heard that voice. And he hoped, for the first time in his life, that he was wrong about something.

* * *

This one was a bit longer! So, did you like it? Don't worry, Zuko and Katara will meet up eventually. Anyways, if you loved it, hated it or don't know what you thought about it, go ahead and review!

I have something important to go do right now so, that's it! CHOCOLATE (runs off)

- iolar abu -


	3. The Return

Hello everybody! I wanted to thank everybody who reviewed for chapter 2…. This chapter might get a bit confusing but it's supposed to be that way, just to let you guys know! Anyways, all will be explained later….

Disclaimer: Unluckily, even passing my math exam with 93/100 (happy dance) wasn't enough to get the rights to own Avatar: The Last Airbender…. So, sorry, I don't own it. I don't even own the paper that I first wrote this chapter on: it was my friend's. (sigh)

Well, without further ado, here goes Chapter 3: The Return

* * *

--Last time --

"Hello? Is anyone there? Please answer me! Is there anyone?"

He froze. He had recognised the voice from the other side of the wall. And he hoped, for the first time in his life, that he was wrong about something.

* * *

Zuko couldn't believe his ears. In the cell next to his was his sworn enemy, Princess Azula. Who just happened to be his little sister. He had been hoping that she had been the one behind his abduction but if she was in a cell, who could it be? Admiral Zhao had been carried off by the Water Spirit at the North Pole and the Fire Lord was too busy to deal with an exile. He was so lost in thought that he had forgotten to answer his sister's question. And she wasn't exactly the patient kind of person. 

"Hello? Is there someone there?" Zuko snapped back to reality. He had to use the right words or he might lose a powerful ally when he attempted to escape. He had to make her angry enough to want to destroy everything around her. Luckily, that was one of his many talents.

"Good morning, sis. So, I guess you're not as good as you, and everyone else, thought. I mean, getting caught by the same people who caught your _worthless_ brother… You must be losing your touch."

* * *

Azula's cell

As soon as Azula had heard Zuko's words, her temper had flared. He was taunting her and she knew it but she couldn't resist getting him back. She was furious. Of all the cells in the ship, she just had had to be taken to the one next to her stuck-up brother. _'Well, if he wants all out war, he had just better be ready for whatever comes at him.'_ she thought.

"Well Zuzu, figure finding you here proves that you were still goofing off one your mission to find and capture the Avatar. I still don't see why on earth Father gave you a chance to regain your honour. I mean, how can you regain something that you never had? But don't you worry Zuzu; I'll catch the Avatar for you. I'll make sure of it. I mean, I've always been better than you and you know it."

* * *

Zuko's cell

"How dare you? Remember, no matter what you try to do to gain Father's favour, you'll always be my LITTLE sister and nothing you can do will ch-"

Those words marked the beginning of a yelling war between Zuko and Azula. Suddenly, Azula fell silent. Zuko stopped yelling a few seconds later, wondering why she had given up. It wasn't like her to do something that unobtrusive. (AN: yay! I love that word!) It was then that his cell door exploded with such force that he was sent flying onto the opposite wall. The last thing that he saw was a large fireball heading straight for him. He fell to the floor, unconscious.

* * *

Azula's cell

In the cell across the wall, all was quiet. The girl who had been lying on the floor was gone. The only thing that spoke of her fleeting presence was a Fire Nation bandana lying dejectedly in the darkest corner of the cell. All was quiet.

* * *

Zuko's cell

"Please? Let me do it! It would be another attack to his pride. We would be destroying another of one of the few things left that still link him to the Fire Nation. I swear that it won't jeopardize our mission. I wouldn't let it." whispered a dark-cloaked figure to the other wisp of shadow standing beside it.

After a pause for thought, the second shadow nodded slowly. Almost appearing to glide, the first figure reached towards the Prince's head and cut off the topknot. The figure smiled discreetly. With another link broken, the ones left were so few that the Prince didn't stand a chance. Not that he ever had… Both shadows glided out of the cell, leaving what appeared to be a pile of rags behind them.

* * *

Katara

The first thing she felt was pain. Burning, searing, heart-tearing pain. She closed her eyes again and tried to ignore it as best as she could. Once it had been slightly reduced a dull ache, she opened her eyes and saw…nothing.

'_Did they blind me? Where did they bring me? Where am I?'_

After a while, her eyes started to become used to the darkness around her. Letting her eyes wander, she noticed a crumpled form on the floor. It looked vaguely like a person but she couldn't be sure since the darkness seemed to make everything shift around in front of her eyes. At other times, it seemed like a table, then like a rock. It made her stomach queasy just to look at it.

However, she couldn't keep her eyes off it. She decided to try to get up to go see what it was but she had counted without knowing how battered her body truly was. As soon as she put her right leg down, a jolt of pain went through her body and she collapsed, unable to bear it any longer. Lying eagle-spread on the ground, she cursed her stupidity. But no matter how hard she tried to think of other things, her thoughts kept on returning to the crumpled form on the ground.

Gradually, she fell into a deep and healing sleep. But because of that, she missed seeing the strange lump moving. She missed seeing a firebender sit up and light a small flame that danced in his hands. She never heard the way his breath hitched when he caught sight of her face. And most of all, she didn't hear him whisper the name of a lowly water peasant.

"Katara…"

* * *

In the captain's cabin in the ship

A man who had thought he was dead stood up and took the bar. A man who had defied the Gods smirked proudly. A man who was going to destroy the world laughed. He had survived long after most men would have died. He had made it back. He had caught the ex-Fire Prince, a thing the Fire Lord would thank him greatly for. He had imprisoned Princess Azula, the most powerful firebender alive, except for the Avatar. And most importantly, he had caught the Avatar-bait, the water peasant girl.

Yes, all was well in the world for that one man. He was going to save his Nation, going to become a hero. He laughed at the thought. No one could stop him now. Admiral Zhao was back.

* * *

Ooooh! That was kind of a cliff-hanger! Yay, I made a cliffie! 

(goes and dance around amongst strange stares)

Bet you all thought that it was going to be Katara in the cell next to Zuko's...but even better! She's in the same one as him! Oh, I also abused of separators, but I kind of had to because of the two cell thing...

Anyways, I know that that's not how Zuko really loses his topknot but I thought that it fit well in the story. As for how Zhao got away from the Water Spirit, don't worry, you'll know soon! ---I guess that means there's going to be a filler chapter soon…but I'll make it as interesting as possible!

Well, tell me what you thought about it, I really appreciate your reviews!

- iolar abu -


	4. My Father, Your Brother

Hey everyone! Sorry that it took me so long to update, it's just that exams aren't the easiest time to write fanfics…Anyways, now that the Zu and the Tara are together, let's get started on the real action! By the way, this chapter will probably be a bit confusing…I even kept on messing up while I was writing it! Thanks to everybody who reviewed, I really appreciate it…

Disclaimer: El Avatar: The Last Airbender no esta el mío. There. I even said it in Spanish. (Not that well, but still…) Anyways, hmf! Nobody can sue me now! Yay, the only thing I own is this plot…I don't even own the chair I'm sitting on right now (sigh)

Well, now that we've cleared that up, here goes for Chapter 4: My Father, Your Brother…

* * *

Katara slowly regained consciousness. She couldn't see where or with who she was. She let the pain slowly ebb away; thinking regretfully about what she could have done had she had her flask of water. _'But it's too late for regrets, isn't it. I wonder what happened to Aang…I hope he's okay.'_ Suddenly, she heard a groan coming from her right, just opposite the door. 

"Wh-Who's there?" she asked shakily. She couldn't see anything because of the annoying properties of Fire Nation cells, properties that she was becoming acquainted with quite well thanks to Prince Zuko.

The thought of the boy…well, young man who wanted to capture her best friend made her shiver. But this time, it was from anger, not from fear. She couldn't understand why someone would want to capture the Avatar, the one who was going to save the world. Zuko _was_ Fire Nation, but Katara refused to believe that anyone was truly evil, Fire Nation or not. _'Well, on second thought, the Fire Lord is evil…But Zuko's banished. Does that mean that he went against Ozai's wishes? Then why would he be running after Aang for Ozai's purposes? It just doesn't make sense…There are too many questions and too few answers.'_

Another groan, louder this time, tore her from her thoughts. A few seconds after, the cell was lit up by a flame. The bearer was none other than His Grouchiness himself, Prince Zuko. Katara gasped. It couldn't be. She was locked up in a dark cell with her worst enemy. Her day just kept getting better…_ 'Why me? It seems that this kind of thing always happens to Sokka, not to me!'_ She felt a pang of sadness at the thought of her brother but it didn't stop her from glaring angrily at the boy at the other end of the cell. Gathering up all of the dislike and anger that she felt against him, she said as coldly as she could manage:

"Now what are _you_ doing here? I thought that you would have been the one to throw me in a cell. Aren't you supposed to be too good to be imprisoned with me? I guess our captors don't agree with you. Too bad, so sad."

Katara watched as Zuko's face contorted with rage then suddenly seemed to grow calm again, even calmer than he had been before. Somehow, the second one made him seem more dangerous. Katara wondered how she was going to defend herself when he attacked. It wasn't the easiest thing to fight someone older and heavier than you when there was no water at hand to bend. Katara kept her eyes on him, watching to see if he was going to make the first move. In all her years watching Sokka train, she had at least learned to never move first. But instead of attacking, he started to talk, with a smirk plastered on his face.

"Oh well, if it isn't the little Water Tribe peasant. It seems that there's no water around here. Poor little, weak, defenceless you. You should be bowing at my feet right now. I mean, my captors must have thought that I needed a servant while I'm locked up. My guess is, that's you."

Katara could feel her self-control slipping with every word he said. By the time he had finished, she was ready to pounce on him. But she didn't, restraining herself, trying ot get him to move first. When he did, she almost missed it. While he had been talking, he had slowly inched closer to her. He shot a blast of flames that she barely avoided. He didn't even look surprised at her move. He attacked over and over again, and time and time again, she jumped aside, avoiding his fiery punches.

* * *

--Change of narrator focus (Katara to Zuko)--

Zuko was slowly cornering her. A few more flames and she'd be trapped. But no matter how calm and confident he appeared on the outside, in his head, war had been declared. The three sides of his conscious had broken loose and had separated each other from the whole they normally formed. They had started a three-way war. First there was Prince Zuko. He had been the major in control since Ozai had sent the fateful fireball at him. But the fireball hadn't only been meant to hurt Zuko. It was meant to turn him into the perfect Fire Nation heir. It brought out all of the evil and dark feelings in his heart, changing him deeply.

Then there was Blue Spirit, the Shadow Prince. He fought for what was right and good. But he never dared reveal his face because of who hid under the Laughing Mask. Finally there was the weakest member of the Trio. The Real Zuko. The one who had been shut out the day that the Fire Lord had burned his own son. The one who should have been the most present but who was forced into the darkest corners by the other two. No matter how different they were, they were all a part of Zuko. Even though Prince Zuko was the most present in Zuko's heart and decisions, there were those moments when the other two flashed. They had to, or the precarious balance in which Zuko's mind had spiralled would have been broken.

As soon as he attacked the water peasant, he started to lose control. For the first few seconds of his attacks, he had wanted to kill the girl but then it turned into a game. By the time he had pinned her against the wall, the Real Zuko had taken over completely for the first time in years. He stared down at Katara for a handful of seconds. She stared back at him, wide-eyed in fear that he would kill her. Suddenly, the three sides of Zuko melded back together. He looked down at Katara again and backed away from her, blushing slightly. He had felt something strange while he was fighting her. It was the same feeling that he had gotten at the North Pole, but hundreds of times stronger. He had to figure out what the peasant did to him. She seemed to take away his anger, almost by magic. She shouldn't have had that power.

* * *

--Change of narrator focus (Zuko to Katara)--

Katara was confused. At the beginning of their fight, _'Well, more likely, at the beginning of Zuko's rampage'_ she thought humorously to herself, she could have sworn that he was out to kill her. But when he had her trapped, _'In a rather awkward position'_ she admitted to herself blushingly, he had simply backed away, not even gloating at how easily he had beaten her. It just wasn't normal. _'Hey, am I worrying about His Grouchiness? Something is definitely wrong with me. It must be the lack of food. Yes, that's it, I'm just too hungry to think straight…'_

Yet there was something else disturbing her. While Zuko had had her trapped between his arms, she hadn't been scared. She had almost felt…safe. Shaking her head at her absurd thoughts, she looked aimlessly around the room. Her eyes wandered to Zuko. He was playing with the flame in his hands, twirling it around like Sokka did with his boomerang. "Stop thinking about him." she chided herself.

"Stop thinking about whom, peasant?"

'_Oh great, I just had to say that out loud…' _"About no one, your Royal Nosiness. And my name is Katara. K-A-T-A-R-A. Not peasant, not girl and not water peasant. Understand?"

"Whatever, peasant."

Katara glared at him scathingly. Of all the nerve… She jumped on him, planning to wrestle him to the ground. Instead, he simply extinguished the flame in his hands, rolled over and pinned her to the ground, face down. She felt a sudden weight on her back. Her breaths were getting shorter and shorter. She was having more and more trouble breathing.

"Zuko…I can't breathe…get off…" she wheezed.

Suddenly, the crushing weight was gone and she turned over on her back, breathing hard. Zuko simply sat there, looking as calm as ever. Once she had caught her breath enough to not sound too breezy, she almost yelled:

"What were you thinking? I could have suffocated. Just what is the matter with you?"

"Well, you can't blame me for the fact that you can't hold your breath for longer than a few seconds. Pretty pathetic for a waterbending peasant, isn't it?"

"It's not my fault that you weigh more than a flying bison! Even Appa is as light as a feather compared to you!"

"Well, the only reason I ended up having to sit on you was that you couldn't keep you dirty peasant's hands off me and jumped onto my back when I wasn't looking."

"How dare you! It's all your fault. Just because you want to prove you're good enough to be a Prince. Well, you sure don't have my support. What kind of king-to-be goes around calling his subjects 'peasant' and 'girl'? Hunh? Tell me…"

"My father does." Zuko whispered. Katara bit back the acid reply that she was going to make. She turned away from Zuko, who just sat there. Curling up on the floor and closing her eyes, she fell asleep, leaving the exiled prince alone with his dark thoughts.

* * *

A/N: Sorry that this chapter was kind of long and boring… I promise that there'll be more action next time. Well, if you call Azula, Zhao and the rest of the gang having…err…something happen to them action, it'll be then. There will also be a bit more of an explanation about Zuko's conscience(s)…. 

Anyways, tell me what you think about it so far…and if you have any suggestions, feel free to mention them in your review!

- iolar abu -


	5. Why?

(looks up from fight with her other self, Aziala) Well, hello everybody! As you probably already guessed, this is the next chapter. Aziala (points menacingly at her) wanted this chapter to be different so we ended up in this huge fight….Anyways, if this chapter makes little or no sense, blame it on her! Hmf.

'_Italic'_ means that it's someone's thoughts

"Blab" means that somebody is talking

_Blab_ means that it's a dream

Disclaimer: Malheureusement, Avatar: The Last Airbender ne m'appartient pas. See, I wrote it in French now! Oh well, it still doesn't change that I don't own it. I need something to do to get rid of this anger (eyes Aziala pensively) oh, maybe if I hit her I'll own it! (runs over and starts hitting her with limbs flailing all over then comes back) nope, I still don't own it (desperate sigh)

Anyways, I'm really sorry that it took me so long to post this chapter it's just that I couldn't get a very good place to end it and even now, I'm not quite happy with it...

Well, here goes for chapter 5: Why? I like this chapter title because it doesn't give **anything** away about the plot (runs away laughing crazily).

* * *

Somewhere

Cold. He was floating in an unknown place. Who was he? On the floor, he could see a body. _'My body.'_ he realized with nothing more than a twinge of surprise. _'Then what am I doing floating in mid-air if my body's down there? Aren't people supposed to be in their own bodies? Unless the rules have changed again…I guess that that would explain why everything is colored in blue.'_ He approached his body slowly, as if he wasn't certain what he was supposed to do. Reaching out to touch his face to try to see if it was truly him, he was propelled back by a jolt of energy. He couldn't touch his own body. It was then that he heard a call, in a crystal voice that whispered things to his memory, things that he couldn't yet place but that were very important for him to know.

"Sokka…Sokka…Come to my Daughter, she needs you…Sokka, you have to come help her…Sokka, please."

And as suddenly as it had started, the voice was silent, leaving him alone with his unmoving body and the painful memory of lost love. He cried out silently in desperate pain.

* * *

Katara and Zuko's cell

Zuko watched as the waterbender fell asleep, without really seeing her. She had managed to hit him where it hurt the most. How did she dare question the Fire Lord's ability to rule a Nation? _'But is it right for a ruler to take over all the other Nations? Am I questioning my father again? I guess he was right to exile me…After all; the Fire Nation is the strongest so we should rule all others! …But is it right for so many people to be killed uselessly for a war? Should we sacrifice so many people? The Fire Lord is the ruler, though. He should know what is good for his own Nation. Unless he's wrong…'_

Zuko shook his head. He was being stupid again, debating whether the Fire Lord's decisions were right or not. _'But…No! Stop thinking traitorous thoughts! As soon as you capture the Avatar, you'll be free to go back home, honor regained… But what if Zhao was right about my father not wanting me back? …No, he couldn't have been right. Stop thinking about that!'_

Zuko sighed at himself in utter annoyance. Why couldn't everything be as simple as it had been only a year ago? When he knew that the Fire Lord was right and that he was being a good son, going to find the Avatar? Why did he have to start questioning everything that he had once stood for, unwavering? Why did he have to get a conscience? Sick of all the questions that were fighting in his head, he went over to the corner closest to him and curled up against the wall. Sleep, however, took its sweet time in coming.

* * *

Katara's Dream

Katara tossed and turned in her sleep. Her dreams were managing to keep her from greatly needed rest…again.

_She was standing on an empty snow plain. She couldn't see anything around her. It was then that something caught her attention. A dark column of smoke was rising to her right. She started to move towards it. Somehow, she managed to cross the entire snow plain in a few strides. What she saw shocked her completely. It was her village! But something was wrong. She saw people in red moving around the village. _

"_Fire Nation soldiers." she whispered. She saw them take people out of their houses and bring them to the center of the village. Only a little girl had managed to escape them and she hid behind a snow bank, watching. Suddenly, a woman was dragged out of the crowd and tied up on a pole of wood that the soldiers had brought with them. The little girl ran towards Katara's hiding spot. She stopped short when she saw that someone was already there. Katara thought that she was going to scream. The girl in front of her was herself, only younger. Then the memories that she had buried for so long came back. The woman that they were going to burn was her mother. She screamed, an ephemeral sound in the howling winds, undetectable by human ear._

_She saw her mother die, and then suddenly, the scene changed. She was standing in an Earth town village. Another death by fire. Flash. The scene changed again. Over and over, she experienced the pain of a thousand deaths and a thousand more. They were all the Fire Nation's fault. Suddenly, she was back in her hiding place at her village in the South Pole. She saw her mother die over and over. It was too much. It wasn't possible. She howled with pain, the pain that she had felt at every death, every loved one's pain at watching another die. It was all their fault._

_

* * *

_

End of Katara's Dream

She woke up, covered in sweat. Someone had shaken her awake. For the first time, she felt a little bit thankful that she had been shut in a cell with a firebender. Even as the word reverberated in her thoughts, she felt a wave of excruciating sadness fall over her. She felt silent tears run down her cheeks. It was too much. In the light that the flame dancing in his hands provided, Zuko's expression was unreadable.

"Why did you wake me up?" asked a glassy-eyed Katara.

"Well, the only reason that I got my hands dirty on you is that I didn't feel like trying to go to sleep with a screaming water peasant in the same room as me. You scream way too loudly."

"I was screaming in my sleep?" Katara's mind was still in shock from what she had seen in her vision. It couldn't be true.

"What is the matter with you, girl? I knew that you were stupid but still, I'm starting to think that you were brain-washed or something! Are you even listening to me?"

During his outburst, Katara had just sat there with a far-away look in her eyes. The things that she had seen were just starting to sink in. It was all the Fire Nation's fault. And she was stuck in a cell with a _firebender_. She sat up straighter and looked Zuko straight in the eyes.

"Don't you ever touch me again, _firebender_. Don't you dare, after all that your army has done. Don't even come near me again. It might not be you who did all those things but still, you aren't totally innocent. Did you ever even stand up for anything else than war and killing? I don't think so. You never did _anything_ to stop the war. You should be-"

"Yes, I did." Zuko whispered.

"What did you say?"

"I said, yes, I did try to do something to stop the war. I hate it. You want to know what I did? I stood up and opposed myself to one of the generals when he said that we were going to sacrifice a whole division of soldiers, just to make an attack. I stood up and got challenged to an Agni Kai. I thought that it was going to be against the old general but it was against the Fire Lord. It was my father who gave me this scar. Don't you _ever_ say that I did nothing to try to keep the thoughtless killing to a minimum. Never say that again, water peasant."

Katara just stared at him. She couldn't believe it. His own father had given him that scar. _'What kind of father would do that to his son?'_ She couldn't believe that the hard, almost evil Zuko had stood up for good. It just wasn't like him, was it? _'But I never knew him before he got exiled…so how can I know what is like him and what isn't? How can he be loyal to a man who scarred his own son?'_

Zuko had just sat there, wondering why he had told her that. It wasn't any of her business. He had felt that he had to prove to her that he hated the war and the useless killing almost as much as her, if not more. It had robbed him of his father, his mother and his sister. It was because of the war that his father and sister had become heartless shells. And his mother had died. He loathed the war but if he brought back the Avatar, he might get one of the lost things back: his father's love.

Katara finally broke the heavy silence. "Err...do you want some of the soup that they brought us?"

Zuko looked at her unbelievingly. How could she pass over his explanation so easily, without even making a commentary? Suddenly, his stomach growled. Soup was starting to sound like a good idea… "Sure, water peasant. But give me the bowl; I don't want to catch your germs when I take my share."

Katara smiled slightly and gave the bowl to him. She was going to stop remembering her dream, for a few hours at least. After all, few things were as amusing as messing with Zuko's head…

* * *

Zhao's cabin

Admiral Zhao smiled. He was going to have a very interesting time interrogating Princess Azula. After all, it was always great fun stripping royal heirs of their titles for fake accusations of treason. He opened the door and noted that his first mate had done a good job in tying her up: she couldn't move a muscle. The man had even thought to use special uninflammable rope, just to make it harder for her to get away.

"Well, who do we have here? Azula, I'd have thought better of you! Treason against the Fire Lord; I never thought that you could steep that low. I'll be nice and tell you exactly how you committed treason; after all, since you're no longer a princess, you have all the time in the world. The Avatar will be exceptionally pleased that he had no one chasing after him, thanks to me."

Azula stared at him haughtily. He was definitely over the edge this time. If he thought that the Fire Lord would _thank_ him for catching and imprisoning his chosen heir, he was in for a big surprise.

A few minutes later, her opinion had completely changed. She was in deep trouble. All of the reasons that they had set to prove that she had committed treason were impossible to prove false. They had her caught as surely as the fact that she had no way of escaping the ship, even if she was a firebending prodigy. There was only one way that she might live to see the Fire Nation's greatest victory: she had to get help from her brother. It wasn't by far her first choice but it would have to do, if she wanted to get out of the ship alive. Once she was free, she could always capture her brother and bring him back to prove to her father that she wasn't and never had been a traitor. The more she thought about it, the more she liked her plan. It was time to smooth-talk her brother into helping her. It had always been fun confusing Zuko.

* * *

With Aang, Momo and Appa

They had been flying non-stop for so long that they had almost forgotten what the ground felt like under their feet (or paws). As soon as Aang had seen that Katara and Sokka had disappeared, he had left the camp. Since then, they had only stopped once, to gather more water. With every passing day, Aang got more and more frustrated. Both of his friends seemed to have been wiped of the surface of the Earth. Appa was getting exhausted and could hardly fly anymore. It was then that they decided to stop to rest up: there was no way that they were going to be able to fight the Fire Nation in their present state.

It was that night that the vision had come to Aang. While he was sleeping, he suddenly was transported to an empty place. A few seconds after he arrived, Avatar Roku appeared. He seemed rather troubled.

"Aang, you have given up on mastering the Elements to go after your friends. I know that they are important to you but think, if you do not master the Elements soon, you will not be able to stop the world from being destroyed by the force that the Fire Nation will have when the comet arrives. I hate to make you do this, but you must choose: to save your friends but let the world be destroyed or to save the world. It is your choice."

"But if I save the world, won't Katara and Sokka die?"

"I cannot answer that. You must decide before it's too late or no one will be saved. Think it through thoroughly before you decided. The world rests in the balance. Our future rests in you hands, Aang. Choose wisely."

Aang woke up suddenly. He didn't know what to do. The future of a whole world was in his hands and he could just sit there, dong nothing. _'Why did I have to be chosen to be the Avatar? Why?'_ He stood up, with one sentence reverberating in his thoughts. "To save your friends but let the world be destroyed or to save the world."

He couldn't choose. But he had to.

* * *

Wow.It didn't turn out that badly!Anyways, I finally came back to Aang, I mean; I basically ignored him for the last four chapters. Well, you can always tell me what you want Aang to choose but I have to admit that I kind of already know what he's going to choose… BUT it might be influenced by what you guys think should happen! 

So please Review and tell me what you thought about this chapter. Like I said, it ended up a little bit strange compared to what I had originally planned…but I think that it's actually okay!

Anyways, I have to go eat lunch (at 1:03 PM, I know, I'm kind of late) and then, yay, I've got a soccer practice in the rain!

- iolar abu -


	6. Pain hurts

I'm soooo sorry that it took me like a month and a half to update it's just that I was at camp (it was fun ) Anyways, thanks so much to everybody who has been reviewing! And to those who haven't, you can just say hey or something but please review!

Disclaimer: Avatar: The…Last...Airbender…isn't mine… (dies dramatically then pops up again all happy) But this time, the paper was mine! All mine…. )

* * *

Zhao returned to his cabin after making sure that Azula was well locked up. His day just kept on getting better and better. Not only had he had the pleasure of degrading an ex-royal heir, he was a step closer to fulfilling the mission that he had received. He had managed to make both of his masters happy… Life was good. 

Suddenly he stopped dead. In his cabin, there was a huge pile of blue fire. Well, it looked like liquid fire that didn't burn the floor, for some unknown reason. He instantly knew who had sent the strange apparition. It was a sending from the only being who truly terrified him: the Water Goddess. The apparition brought back bad memories of the Spirit World. Zhao slowly made his way into his cabin and bowed to the floor, his forehead touching the ground. He stayed there, waiting for the sending to deliver its message.

"Mortal, the Water Goddess has sent me to remind you of your mission. You must go towards the North Pole. Do not try to cheat her by deceit or other falsities. You are naught but a child playing a dangerous game who knows neither the rules nor the consequences that force his actions. You think you know a lot, but you know even less than a newborn babe. Do not mess with things beyond your comprehension."

"Yes, Spirit. I hear and obey." Zhao forced the words out unwillingly. If the Water Goddess terrified him, it was nothing like that with the weak sendings that she sent to check on his progress. It was an effort to even appear remotely afraid of them. They were weak, but their mistress was the only one who could ever truly terminate his life.

"Do not try to mock me, mortal. Do not say such foolish things, mortal. Do you truly believe that we wouldn't watch you to make sure that you were completing the task that the Water Goddess gave you? You have no more control on you destiny than an ant swept away by a flooded river going over a waterfall. You cannot run away and hide, for we will always find you. You no longer have the right to change your mind or your fate. Or have you already forgotten what happened when you came to the Spirit World? Are you foolish enough to even believe that you might have the slightest chance to cross the will of a goddess, and by lie and deceit, win against her?"

"I nev-"

"Be quiet, worthless mortal! I did not give you permission to speak. Now go to the North Pole, as fast as this ship can go. And remember, the Water Goddess watches everything and everyone. Do not be arrogant enough to believe that you could be an exception."

With those words, the spirit disappeared, leaving a prostered Zhao on the floor of the cabin. He slowly got up, smiling ironically. Even the Water Goddess had no idea of what his plan was. She had, unknowingly of course, helped him greatly with the order that her sendings kept on bringing him. Hurrying towards the North Pole…Now there were a few advantages to that. Life was definitely good.

* * *

Katara snuggled closer to her pillow. It was so nice and warm, not like the puddle of water that she was lying in… _'Wait a minute, there aren't any pillows in here! This is a Fire Nation ship, not a comfortable Water Tribe bed.'_ She opened her eyes and saw red and black fabric… She hurriedly got up. It was just starting to sink in. She had been curled up against Zuko's chest. _'How did I end up there? It must have been survival notions that drew me towards the only source of heat in the room…It **must** have! Ugh…Now I'm going to have to find a way to take a bath. That's just great.'_ She moved as far as possible from him. To her relief, the boy kept on sleeping. Curled up in the opposite corner, she let her thoughts drift slowly. 

It was then that the cell door opened, revealing a face that she had hoped to never set eyes on again: Admiral Zhao. She backed away, but he was faster and grabbed her anyway, dragging her out of the cell and into the hallway. She kept on struggling but against a man trained by the harsh rulings of the Fire Nation army, a fourteen-year old girl stood little chance. He kept on dragging her as if she was just a small, weightless, insignificant piece of cloth. Each time she attempted to stand up, Zhao accelerated, making her legs slowly get scraped to pieces, courtesy of the nails sticking out of the floor.

After what seemed like an eternity, Zhao stopped in fron of a room and threw Katara un. The only things visible were two shackles hanging from the ceiling. Two Fire Nation soldiers hung her there, making sure that she was face towards the wall. She just hung there limply, wanting to know what was happening, Zhao was beating her. _'Why would he do that? I nev-' _The fire whip came down mercilessly on her side.

An endless scream of pain pierced the quiet of the Fire Nation ship. Everyone stopped what they were doing. Katara kept on screaming, though with less strength at each strike of the whip. Eventually, all was quiet. Katara's body hung limply from the cuffs in the cell. Zhao had left the two soldiers who guarded her with a simple order:

"Call me when she awakes."

* * *

When he heard the scream, Zuko had awoken instantly. He looked around the cell for Katara but she was nowhere to be seen. It was then that the connection made itself in his head. Katara was missing. It was her voice screaming. It had to be Katara who was screaming. Someone was hurting her badly. 

'_But why should I care? She's just a water peasant who had to share my cell. And she's friends with the Avatar.' _He shook his head. He was being foolish again. _'But… I need her to help me… No! I never need help! … But we are in the middle of the Ocean and she's a waterbender… I don't need help!' _Zuko could have screamed in frustration. Why did that little annoying voice in his head always pop up at the wrong moment? And why did it _always_ need to challenge what he knew his father would have wanted him to do? He hated the arguments he kept on having with himself. _'But you do need help.'_

He just ignored the voice since there was no way that he could do anything to get out of the cell to go save Katara.

'_**Save** Katara? I'm definitely going crazy. I **thought** about saving a lowly water peasant! I only need to use her to get out of here, then I'll dispose of her! This is only for my own profit! For my own selfish intentions! I don't want to lose a useful tool…'_

'_Sure…' _said the little voice, a touch of irony within its comment in the back of his head. _'Of course you don't.'_ An unheard laughter echoed in his thoughts. He groaned. He was losing an argument against himself… No, not losing, getting pummelled by himself. He gave up completely and fell into a restless sleep, full of twisted and strange dreams.

* * *

Katara slowly opened her eyes. Then she wished she hadn't. One of the two soldiers standing in front of her went off yelling. 

"Admiral, she's awake! Admiral Zhao, she's finally awake! Admiral!"

She groaned. She hurt all over and felt unable to move any other muscle than those of her eyelids. It was then that she felt someone clamp their hand on her shoulder. Pain exploded all throughout her body.

"Get up, girl." said a voice as cold as ice. Katara struggled to her feet. Her knees felt like they were going to give out but she put all of her will into standing up straight. "Now follow the soldier to your cell." The combatant in question started quickly off through the door and turned left, not even waiting for the girl to follow. Katara took a shaking step forward to follow him. A few more steps later, she faltered. A sharp pain in ther back made her crumple to the hard, unforgiving metal floor.

"Get up, peasant or I'll make you wish that your mother never let you father steal that first kiss. Get up."

Katara slowly rose to her feet and took a few more steps towards the doorway. She felt the whip hit her teasingly on the ribs.

"I don't have all day to torture you, water peasant. So you're going to hurry up. If not, we're going to get to have more fun before I have to go occupy myself with more important matters than amusing myself while torturing Water Tribe scum."

Katara's eyes widened. He really meant to do all of the things that he would do to her. She knew that once he really got started punishing her, he would probably kill her. She couldn't give him any excuses to hurt her. Not that he necessarily would wait for one, but it was worth a try. She had to make it to her cell without getting him angry. It was going to be a hard and painful walk. She bravely took a few more steps. She turned the corner and was at a loss of what to do. There were two ways to go and no indication to where she had to turn. Zhao was coming up behind her.

"Is there a problem, water peasant? Have you forgotten the way or have you just been praying for me to get annoyed at you? Anyway, you're going to get badly hurt if in three seconds you aren't walking down one of those hallways. Now go."

Katara looked from hallway to hallway, desperately looking for a clue that might help her discover which way the soldier had taken. But there was nothing. With a terrified squeak, she sped down the right hallway as fast as she could. Zhao grabbed her braid and pulled her back onto the floor. She heard three words.

"Wrong choice, peasant."

* * *

Thanks for bearing with me! This chapter was actually about 1800 words! Yay! Anyone who even bothers to read this gets an electronic chocolate cookie! Anyways, **R n' R **! It makes me happy! 

- iolar abu -


	7. The Escape

Fine, let's face it. Last chapter was horrible. No… worse than horrible, it was not even worthy of the name of chapter. But seriously, in this chapter, things will make a little more sense with a bit less OOCness (that isn't a real word, is it?) And **Rashaka**, it will make sense eventually, don't worry!

* * *

-Last time-

Zhao grabbed her braid and pulled her onto the floor.

"Wrong choice, peasant."

* * *

Zuko woke up as soon as the door swung open, squeaking loudly. The man that he saw made his blood boil. Admiral Zhao, the person that he hated the most in the world, after his sister, was standing in the doorway, only a few feet away. Zuko sprung to his feet, sending a blast of fire with his arm. Angry punch after angry punch, he threw all of his strength into his attacks, He wanted to hurt, to kill Zhao. He was consumed by hate. 

When he finally started to tire, he looked up to see what damamge he had caused to his opponent. He repressed a gasp of surprise. Zhao was just standing there, with a pitying smile on his lips. Zuko was thrown off by the fact that he appeared unhurt, not even singed. Zhao hadn't even bothered to move. He bent down to grab something off the floor and threw it into the cell. He seemed to look thoughtfully at the heap that he had thrown in before taking a step out of the cell. He turned to go but seemed to be pulled back by a force stronger than he. He said in a dangerously calm voice:

"Tell the water peasant that no matter who she is, what she was or what she did, she can't run away from the Gods. She can't run away from Fate. One pain for one happiness, one death for one life, one joy for one sorrow. The agreement is made, there is no way out. Tell her that and make sure that she understands. Fate is not to be trifled with."

He slammed the door and stalked angrily away. Zuko flung himself at the closed door trying to melt it, to knock it down. Trying to do anything that would get him through the entrance so he could kill Zhao. He didn't even spare the bundle that he knew to be Katara a single glance. Fire coursed through his veins, making him writhe in pain. He was burning the very essence of his being to get free. He felt like a living torch, without anything to extinguish the fire that was consuming him. Just as suddenly as his power had started to burn itself, all the pain stopped. Zuko looked at his hands in wonder. He was… glowing. All over his body, little spots of light were growing steadily until he was completely covered in them. He was a beacon of read, yellow and orange light. He was a living flame.

His glowing slowly faded to a dull light but didn't subside. He felt reality slipping away, as if he wasn't a part of it any longer. What was happening in the real world seemed as separate from him as a dull, half-forgotten memory. He was speeding towards a flame of pure light but still felt the hard, unforgiving floor underneath him. It was a strange experience. He ended up floating in a pool of white light.

Suddenly a deep voice came from behind him. "Young Prince of the Fire Nation, you and your friend are in great peril. Since the beginning of time, each Avatar has had the three other Elements reincarnated by his or her side. These people are gifted with great power meant to help the Avatar when he or she has to defeat the threat that the world is facing at that moment in time. These people are forgotten as time goes by, leaving the Avatar as sole responsible one for the saving of the world. But even as history might overlook their importance, they are essential to any success on the Avatar's part. You are glowing since Fire _is_ you. The girl is able to survive such large impacts with less bodily harm than any of you because she _is_ Water, and Water heals. It is mandatory that you both join the Avatar, accompanied by the reincarnation of Earth or Aang _will _fail. With the arrival of Souzen's comet, Aang is destined to be the Last Avatar. Success or failure, it won't change that fact. He must destroy the comet as well as defeat Ozai."

"But, Avatar Roku, why can't you tell the Avatar this directly? I mean, some of those things would be better if he knew them, not us! Do you not understand that honour is making me _capture_ the Avatar, not help him. Only that will earn me the right to return back to my homeland with my honour. You must understand that I can't help the Avatar."

"Do not worry, young Fire Prince. When the time comes, you will know what to do. I can help you escape from the ship that you and the Water girl are on at the moment, but I do not have the right to interfere after I do that. You will be on your own, you and the Water girl. Now, awake."

* * *

Zuko came back to reality with a start. He saw Katara lying on the floor, glowing with a strange blue light. _'So that's what he meant about healing so quickly. She should have been in coma or worse, dead, after what Zhao did to her. Figure that, a lowly Water Peasant being chosen to be Water reincarnated… At least Fire chose more wisely.'_

Suddenly, the outer wall of the ship seemed to dent in. A second later, it crashed inwards, sending water all through the cell. Zuko grabbed onto Katara's arm and tried to walk towards the hole. Water was quickly filling up the little air space that they had. Taking a large breath, he pulled her under waste with him and tried to swim towards the jaggedly cut hole. He didn't have enough breath. Returning to the surface, he gulped air down then dove back down. He had to make it. It was the last chance that they had of escaping Zhao alive. He pushed Katara through the hole ahead of him then, as he tried to pass through, he snagged his arm on a sharp piece of metal. A numb sensation of pain registered itself somewhere in the back of his head but he kept on swimming. He reached to grab Katara and bring her to the surface but he felt nothing. She wasn't there. He couldn't think clearly anymore. He just knew that he had to find her. His lungs were burning. He couldn't find her. He started to see black dots all over his vision.

'_So this is how it's going to end for Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation? Ironic… Drowning when all firebenders are afraid of being burned. Burn…my lungs…'_

The last thing he heard was a deep voice saying: "Do not worry, young Fire Prince. When the time comes, you will know what to do."

The blackness took him away. All was quiet.

* * *

Okay, you are all probably ready to murder me for putting that at the end of the chapter. Yes, I know, that was REALLY short, but at least I updated more quickly than last time! I hope that that helped to explain a few things that were about as clear as mud before… Well, **R n' R**, it makes this author want to update faster! 

- iolar abu -


	8. The light of the moon

Hi everyone. You're all probably ready to murder me for taking so long to update but yes, I do have a reason. Near the end of August, I broke my arm so badly I needed surgery (they had to put a plate and three pins in my arm). They made me keep a cast on for about 8 weeks after the surgery and it's impossible to type with a past-elbow cast (yes, I DID try). I only got said cast off three days ago and my arm is so stiff I can't completely unbend it. There's also the matter of my wrist that I can't turn….It's taking me an eternity to get used to typing again. Well, I wanted to say thanks to : **Powderedsugar, storm-of-insanity, Zutara Lover, zutara4ever, hyper dragonfyre **and** Bubble-Gum-12** who reviewed Chappie 7 and I also wanted to say thanks everyone for not killing me yet while I drag this out. (avoids rotten tomatoes) heh heh he… well, here goes for **Chapter 8:**Worried about me? (Part I)

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Last time:

The last thing he heard was a deep voice saying: "Do not worry, Young Fire Prince. When the time comes, you will know what to do." The blackness took him away. All was quiet.

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Katara's eyes flew open, lit up by the unearthly blue light characteristic to Water. Her arms and wrists started moving in powerful circles around her petite form. A blue halo enveloped her body, as well as that of the boy floating limply a few feet away. They became a swirling ball of blue light, spinning faster and faster. They spun towards the surface in a larger and larger arc until they erupted through the surface and went flying through the air. Suddenly, Katara's eyes stopped glowing and she crumpled from her crossed-legged position. The blue halo disappeared as soon as she fell against it.

They both went crashing towards the ground. Their limp bodies pummelled faster and faster. Suddenly, a column of sand came out of nowhere and stopped their fall. Their landed on it and it slowly brought their bodies onto the ground to rest. Then, it was no more, as if a giant hand had erased it. They lay there, neither moving, save the rise and fall of their chest as they breathed.

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Azula struggled against her chains. If Zhao thought she was going to give up as easily as a newborn kitten, he had something coming at him. She put all of her willpower into bending lightning, without any movement. She felt a spark, but nothing else. Refusing to give up, she tried again. With a crack, her manacles gave way. She stood up, rubbing her wrists. Regretfully, she decided that she had to escape from the sinking ship rather than take her revenge on Zhao, no matter how much she wished to hurt him. She concentrated on the door in front of her. Zhao had never been very smart. In his haste to dethrone her, he had completely forgotten that she was a prodigy, the best lightning bender alive. To believe that a simple cell could hold her was beyond foolishness.

She walked slowly down the corridor, making her way towards what she thought was the general direction of the deck. She was so concentrated on trying to find her way out that when she crashed into a person, she was completely caught by surprise, falling disgracefully to the floor. Glaring at the man in front of her, she slowly dusted herself off. How did he dare… "You, what is your ranking?"

"I'm first mate on this ship." He stood up straighter. To her secret dismay, he towered over her. She groaned inwardly. _'There goes the height advantage…'_ She redoubled the force of her glare. The man didn't even bother to take notice of her.

"Then," she spat, "you will take me to the deck, officer. And I mean now. Do not question my orders or I will destroy you in less that a bat of an eye. I am still Princess and heir to the Fire Throne. What are you staring at? Move!"

Tomaku just stared. This muddy, dirty girl expected him to believe that she was the Fire Princess? _'Admiral Zhao would have told me had we been carrying someone of such importance. I am the first mate, after all! She can't be…'_ He remembered seeing the Fire Princess a few years back, when he had first joined the Fire Navy. She had seemed regal and imperturbable, not angry and desperate like the slight girl in front of him. Yet there was still a doubt in the back of his mind… If only he could be sure before he did something rash…

Azula was getting impatient. Very impatient. And when she got short on patience, she had a tendency to get violent very quickly. Fire illuminated and steadily grew in luminosity until it was lightning that crackled on her open fingertips. The officer in front of her just gaped at what he was seeing. She smirked. In his eyes, she could see that he was reiewing everything that he said to her since she had crashed into him. His eyes widened as he thought of all the disrespectable things he had done and said. She almost laughed as she saw the worry increase dramatically with each passing instant. It felt good to at least scare one person after being dispossessed of her royal title. It was a good thing that the officer seemed oblivious to that fact.

This was definitely going to work to her advantage. _'Five minutes out of my cell and I already find one entirely faithful ally…If he turns out to be a firebender, it'll be a great help to get back at Zhao for locking me up, Zuko for simply existing and Father, most of all. How does he dare take the throne away from me, the best lightning bender alive? He's going to pay! I mean, I was going to kill him when I was eighteen to get the throne early but…I guess this will have to do.'_

Tomaku jumped when he noticed the wolfish smile that she was wearing when she turned back to stare at him. She looked truly diabolical with that look in her golden eyes. Suddenly, she turned back to the hallway surrounding them. She took a few steps on both directions then leaned against the wall and continued to stare up at him. She seemed to be on another planet altogether. Tomaku was feeling increasingly uncomfortable with each passing second.

"What is your name, first mate? Are you a firebender? How old are you? How long have you been in the Fire Navy? How well do you know Admiral Zhao? Who are you loyal to? What are you ready to do for your Nation?" She forced herself to breathe deeply and evenly even though her lungs were urging her to start gulping down air. _'Note to self: no more long speeches in front of possible allies…' _

Tomaku stared at her. She didn't want to kill him? She was as crazy as everyone said. He knew that she was going to have questions, but he had no idea that she would have that many. She almost wanted a whole resume of what he had done since he was born. And his opinion on what he was going to do later. Shaking his head slightly in disbelief, he kept his thoughts to himself and started to answer.

"My name is Tomaku of the Fire Nation village of Kingalay. I'm almost a master firebender master but my training has been slowed a lot since I joined the navy. I started on the advanced forms when I was seven. I'm now seventeen years old. I've been in the Navy since I turned eight; that makes nine years of service. Admiral Zhao is a mysterious man: he rarely lets me in on anything that isn't necessary for the post I occupy. Otherwise said, he likes to ignore me whenever it's convenient. As for loyalty," he took a deep breath, "I pledge myself on any hope of rebirth that my soul possesses that I will do whatever I feel is in your best interest as for the goals that you pursue, Princess."

Azula looked at him, letting her contempt leak through her otherwise expressionless mask. His oath was gong to have to do until she could get him to swear another, no matter how little she trusted his word. After all, even if he was an officer, he was born and still remained a peasant. But since he was all the support she had at the moment, he was going to have to do. _'I'm lucky that he's only two years older than me… An older man would have tried to disobey and contest my orders a lot more. Think of what you have, not of what you would like to have…'_

"Azula…er, I mean Princess Azula, shouldn't we be leaving this ship as fast as possible? After all, it is sinking and I doubt that Zhao would appreciate the fact that his prisoners have such an easy way of escaping…Princess?"

"How did you know? I never said anything…How? Tell me how you know!" she said angrily.

"Princess…Stop panicking! I'll tell you later. Now Princess, we have to get off the ship. It's going to be completely sunken pretty soon. Follow me as quickly as you can. We must move swiftly." With those words, he started to jog down the hallway, Azula running after him as fast as she could. They reached the deck. There, a scene of total chaos met their eyes. All over, giant waves were crasing down onto the ship, sweeping away more people with each one. Screams of utter terror were heard all over. It was no problem for them to slip away unnoticed into the chaos that was consuming the ship. They jumped into the water below, hands clutched as to not lose each other."

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After several hours passed unconscious from over-exertion, Zuko slowly opened his eyes. It took him a moment ot grasp all the impact that the little action had on his life. He was alive after almost drowning. As he took in his surroundings, he saw Katara _'-no! It's water peasant!'_ screamed his subconscious. The water peasant was sprawled on the ground, not moving at all. And all round him, there were trees. It didn't make sense. How had they made it from a Fire nation ship to the middle of the forest? The last thing he remembered was the darkness taking over while he was in the water.

He stood up, realizing just how stiff he really was. He looked around at the sun, trying to estimate how much time he had before it set completely. "A few hours at best… I have to get I fire started if I don't want to freeze" he mumbled softly. _'You don't want Katara to get cold either,' _whispered the treacherous voice at the back of his head. He ostentatiously ignored it, going around collecting braches and leaves. That was the advantage of ending up in a forest. You couldn't run out of fire wood.

A few minutes later, a modest fire was burning in the middle of the clearing where they had landed. Zuko had carried Katara to the side of the fire, wrestling with himself the whole length of the walk. He sat down a few feet away from her. Even with the mysterious powers that Roku had said she possessed, her body didn't seem to be able to heal itself. Someone had hurt her badly. The blue light that still surrounded her seemed a lot brighter in some place. He supposed that those were the deeper wounds she had received from Zhao. A part of him knew that no matter how well that fact that she was Water healed her, Zhao had scarred her in a way that nothing could heal…Like what Ozai had done to him. _'Wait a second, was I comparing a mere peasant to me, a royal prince? I must really be tired…'_ Yet he didn't even really believe what he was thinking.

Hours passed and Zuko slowly gave into sleep. He fell on his back and rolled over. Unconsciously, his hand grabbed Katara's and brought it to his chest. Fire and Water, two opposites yet each essential to the other.

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Azula surfaced, coughing and spluttering. Tomaku was bobbing up and down beside her. They had escaped the ship alive. And Azula had every intention of keeping it that way. _'After all, if I die, who will be there to take revenge on Monkey Face, Zuzu and Father? I don't really have the choice of giving up…It wouldn't be right to give up that easily.'_ It was then that she noticed that Tomaku had grabbed her arm and was dragging her to shore. She sighed and unclenched his hand from her arm. He would have to learn to follow her lead or he would truly be a bigger liability than a helping hand.

She started swimming towards the shore. How she wished that Mai and Ty Lee had been there… She stopped her train of thought. To be evil, you had to be hard. Hard enough to ignore what had happened to the people who were the closest thing she had ever had to friends. _'Stop thinking about that. Let's see, a more pleasant subject…Ways to torture Zhao!'_ She finally stumbled up onto the rocky cliff that formed the shore of the small island that they had ended up on. She sat down for a few minutes to rest, waiting until the cut she had on her left leg stopped bleeding.

She stood up unsteadily, ready to go scouting. Tomaku, however, had other plans. "You can't go scouting now. You might be the most powerful firebender alive, but that doesn't change the fact that you're a fifteen year-old girl. You probably don't have enough energy left to bend anything bigger than a flame. Don't go!"

"Who do you think you are? You swore to aid me. Because of that, you're under my command. That means I give the orders, not you! And if you think that I can't go scouting just because you believe that girls are weaker than boys, forget it. Now get out of my way before I count to three or you're going to regret it."

Tomaku gaped at her. She had misunderstood. "I didn't mean that it's because you're a girl that you shouldn't go scouting. Anyone your age would be exhausted after-"

"One." The fact that he hadn't mentioned her royal title at all made her even angrier. _'Of course…I should have known that he would try to use our age difference as an excuse…Let's see what he finds next.'_

"I swore that I would do whatever I felt was in your best interest, not what you said was. I swore I would protect you and you accepted that oath. You can't just –"

"Two." _'Ah, the unsatisfactory oath that he gave me earlier. I knew he was going to bring that into this discussion… I guess it's passed time I show him who's really boss here. If I let this continue, who knows when he'll stop obeying me altogether…' _It was then that she noticed that he had stepped aside. He was suddenly letting her pass. _'He's definitely a strange person to be around. But I can't get rid of him yet…For now, he still falls under the useful category. Restrain yourself, Zula. Restraint sometimes gives you victory…' _

With that, she strode away. As soon as she was out of his line of sight, she began to run. After a few strides, her knees gave way and she collapsed on the soft ground, exhausted and finally letting it show, now that there was no one to see. _'Figures, after arguing with him for so long, I don't have enough energy to do what I wanted.'_ Curling up on her side, she let sleep overcome her. After all, even Fire Nation bending prodigy princesses sometimes need to rest.

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Zuko awoke again a few hours later, feeling greatly reinvigorated. He looked beside him. Katara was still in her coma-like state. It was starting to get to him. They had a long ways to go and she still wasn't waking up. He looked through her pouch for something else to eat that the porridge that she seemed to like to carry in big quantities. From time to time, he shot her anxious looks, always reprimanding himself.

He kept his silent vigil all through his meal. He stood up as soon as he finished. He was going to try to wake her up, no matter how much part of hi was disgusted of having to touch her. But that wasn't the part that worried him. There was one part of him that actually _wanted_ to touch her. That scared and mystified him. Kneeling down beside her, he grabbed her slight shoulders and shook her. A shock – not a disagreeable one – but a shock anyways went coursing through his body when he touched her. He called her name over and over. What was wrong with her?

"Katara! Wake up… Come on, Katara, wake up!" Incessantly, he called her name. She had to wake up. She just had to. He was surprised at the strength of his thoughts. He wasn't supposed to care about any other than himself. She still wasn't waking up. After a few more minutes of desperate pleading, he just took her hand in his and sat there, hoping that she was going to wake up soon. Zuko slowly started to meditate. He was still able to see her lying there, no matter how much he tried to clear his mind. It was that vision that prompted the next sentence that came out of his mouth. She just seemed so…vulnerable.

"Katara, I…need you to come back." He started to glow with the strange light of pure Fire. His cool fire suddenly crept onto her, depositing itself on the spots where her blue Healing light was the strongest. A few minutes, hours, days later… Zuko couldn't have said exactly how long it was but it seemed like a mere second, yet as long as an eternity. An eternity in a second. The glowing fire slowly receded. They both stopped glowing. Katara's eyelids lifted, revealing two sparkling blue eyes. Zuko was, to say the least, surprised. He had never noticed her eyes before.

Katara sat up slowly. At the sight of Zuko kneeling next to her with such a troubled expression, her breath caught. He looked strangely…vulnerable. _'He looks as if he was… No, he can't be. This is Prince Zuko we're talking about after all. But the look in his eyes…Could it be?'_ She took a deep breath then, looking him straight in the eye, asked: "Zuko, were you _worried_ about **me**?"

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(A/N: This is **Chapter 8:**The light of the moon (Part II))

At the sound of her voice, Zuko snapped out of his trance. His eyes hardened. How dare she think that he, a royal heir, would be worried about her, a simple water peasant?

(A/N: This is a discussion between the three parts of Zuko. It's all happening inside his head and nothing is said out loud.)

_But you were worried, weren't you?_

'No way! I never would even think about that being a possibility. Who are you? What are you doing inside my head?'

_I'm Real Zuko, the one that your father imprisoned the day that he dared to burn his own son's face. I am the one that feels as he should; the one that has been cursed for so long I cannot remember what it is like to be free._

'You are not what he should be. I am the only good version of Zuko left. I'm the only one that Father could ever be proud of. That's why I will use the girl to get to the Avatar. She is the perfect bait.'

_No, you will not. Blue Spirit will help me if he must to stop you from doing that. No matter what else happens, you **will not** use Katara. However, I sure don't mind the feelings that we're starting to develop towards her. I never would have thought that you, the hard one, would fall in l-_

**Be quiet, both of you. We must return the boy and the girl to the Avatar's side before it is too late.**

_Why do you always speak of Zuko as if you were a separate person? You're a part of Zuko, as we are, no matter how much you try to deny it!_

**We do not have time for these frivolities, Real Zuko. We must move swiftly if we are to make it in time. Prince, you must agree with us or we will never get Zuko's body to the Avatar. It will be the end of the world as we know it.**

'Stop talking of our body as if it's someone else's. I will agree to go to the Avatar, but only because it will give me the chance to capture him.'

(A/N: end of inside brain conversation.)

The other sides of him conscience decided to ignore the last remark. Zuko blinked. He was back in the clearing, Katara looking at him, completely confused. "I would never be worried about a water peasant." A part of him cringed as Katara's face fell.

"Well, time to get to business. Where was the Avatar heading when you got captured?"

Katara glared at him. "Do you really think that I'm going to tell you just like that? Just so you can go and try to capture him? Are you really that stupid?"

"You really are dumb, water peasant… Unless Avatar Roku thought that you were too worthless to talk to… We're the reincarnations of Fire and Water. We have to find the reincarnation of Earth then go to join the Avatar if we want to save the world. I think that you already know the rest of the mission we have to fulfill. Get it?"

Katara nodded slowly. She couldn't believe that Prince Zuko actually decided to help Aang save the world. She couldn't believe it. She fingered her mother's necklace, almost unconsciously. It made her think of Aang and of how sweet he was. She remembered how he had gotten the necklace back from Zuko. He was the ideal little brother…but she felt him pushing at her all the time in a way that she definitely didn't want. It was a small relief to be away from him for a while, she thought guiltily. Her wandering eyes ended up resting on the half-full moon. As usual, this sight brought a pang of sadness with it. During the short time that she had known Yue, the older girl had been like a sister to her.

Another thing that she always associated with the moon was the look on Sokka's face when he saw her die to save the moon spirit…That was a sight that she could never forget, no matter how long she lived. Sokka had been utterly destroyed. _'I hope that the Gods were merciful enough to let his soul bask in endless moonlight till the end of the world. La bless you, brother.' _She whispered the last part out loud. "La bless you, brother." She got up and walked over to the stream where she started to dance with her simplest waterbending moves, the ones that came to her like breathing. She was at peace for an endless moment.

Zuko, once he was satisfied that Katara wasn't going to run away, settled himself into the lotus position. He slowly eased himself into a meditative state, aware of everything around him yet strangely disconnected. He was one with Fire, surrendering himself yet gaining some control even as he did so. He was finally at peace…or he was until a certain waterbender decided to have some fun and water whipped him in the back of the head. He blinked then jumped up, intent on getting his revenge on the little girl who dared challenge him.

Katara started to laugh uncontrollably. Zuko's face had been so funny when she had water whipped him! Her merriness was slightly marred by the speed at which Zuko had gotten up._ 'He sure has fast reflexes…for a firebender! But even that won't save him now that the sun has set.'_

"Hey Zuko…Haven't you noticed that the moon is rising? That means I'm stronger than you. So…are you ready to regret what you did at the North Pole?"

"Regret beating you, you mean? Or regret beating you then walking away with your little boyfriend?"

"Aang is **not** my boyfriend, you idiot. He's just a very sweet little guy…he's only a friend."

Zuko faked a yawn. He was enjoying annoying the little water peasant in front of him. _'Who knew that making her mad was going to push her into her last defences? Well, let's get on with it…' _"That sure doesn't look like what the Avatar wants. He probably just thinks you're just shy…But I can't really blame you. With a face as ugly as yours, I would be just afraid of kissing someone as you are…" He could see that those words had stung deeply. A part of him cringed as he saw sadness take over her face. Yet outwardly, he remained as stoic as ever.

Katara took a deep breath. Zuko had just expressed, unknowingly, part of her dilemma from the last few months. This just helped to make the anger that had been boiling in her veins ever since she had met up with Zuko grow. So, having no better idea of how to show her great disdain for him, she water whipped him in the face, sending him skidding back on the ground until he landed with a thud on his backside. He stood up as fast as he could. Looking down, he saw that the wound that she had received when he had pushed her out of the hole in Zhao's ship had started to bleed again. He clutched his forearm, trying to stop the blood from showing through his shirt. He stood up and walked back to where Katara was standing, forcing his face back to imperturbability. She tried to water whip him again but missed. Her anger was growing to such a state that she was losing all control.

Zuko's mind was running at light speed. He knew that Katara would be completely exhausted if he let her continue on her waterbending rant and he didn't want to waste anymore time… But he wasn't exactly looking forward to trying to subdue her by force. _'Well, I supposed that that leaves talking to her…Not fun. But I guess it's better than getting the whole river dumped on my head then having to wait for her to sleep off her weariness…Well, here goes nothing.'_

"Look," he hesitated then continued, "Katara, do you really think that your brother and your boyfriend would want to see you like this? Do you seriously think that if your brother could be here at this instant that he would approve about what you're doing? Wherever he is, I don't think that," he paused, trying to remember her brother's name, "that Sokka would want to see his little sister like this, even if he's somewhere else at the moment?"

Her face darkened with each word he said, until she looked ready to explode. But to Zuko's surprise, she just stood there, in the semi-darkness. He thought that he could see her shaking ever so slightly. Slowly, as if time had become infinitely longer, she crumpled to her knees, covering her face with her hands. Zuko hesitated, unsure of what to do with the teenage girl who was crying her eyes out on the ground in front of him.

Suddenly, a memory long hidden from him came forth. He could see himself, as a small boy, crying. Suddenly, the woman who still haunted his dreams and thoughts appeared. His mother. She rushed to him and took him up in her arms, holding him close. Holding him safe. Zuko blinked. Katara was still curled up in a ball on the ground, trying to cry as quietly as she could, yet she was still shaking with silenced sobs. He walked over to kneel beside her, putting an arm around her shoulders. Deep inside, he still felt the shock of the memory he had discovered from his own past. Holding Katara's slight form against his right shoulder, he patted her back reassuringly. They could save the fighting for when they had both built up their walls again.

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Aang awoke from a troubled sleep as soon as the sun's rays hit the clearing where Appa, Momo and he had decided to rest the previous night. It was at times like this when he missed Katara and Sokka the most. They were his family and it hurt him badly that they had been taken away from him and that he didn't have the choice to go and save them. _' "Death is as light as a feather compared to the weight duty possesses." I've never heard a truer statement in my whole life…'_

A sudden snap of a branch to his left broke him away from his thoughts. He stood up; ready to face whatever danger was going to come out from behind the bushes. After what seemed like an eternity, a slight shape stumbled into the clearing. Aang cautiously made his way towards it. Yet he abandoned all reserve as soon as he saw that it was actually a little girl. She looked around his age. She was covered in blood and dust and seemed to have trouble breathing properly. She collapsed on the ground. Aang was next to her in a heartbeat. He reached out to take her pulse but as soon as his fingers brushed her wrist, he was sent flying by a column of sand. The girl sat up, smirking.

"Careful, Twinkle-toes. Never underestimate an injured opponent."

Aang approached more wearily this time, giving himself the time to think. _'Who is this girl? How could she know exactly where I was, even if she had her eyes closed? Why is she covered in blood?' _By this time, he was standing a mere four feet away from her. For some reason, she still refused to look at him. After a moment, Aang spoke. "What's your name?" He was trying to break the uncomfortable silence that surrounded them. The girl stuck her chin out and he saw what she was trying to hide. She was blind. He felt sudden admiration for this girl who managed to catch him off guard without ever seeing him. He could tell that she was an earthbending prodigy, from the way she moved, never hesitating. And the green aura that surrounded her…Could it be? He remembered a conversation that he had had a few weeks earlier with Avatar Roku. He had to find the reincarnations of the Elements if he wanted to be able to defeat Ozai. This girl _had _to be Earth. As for Water, he was sure that it was Katara, even if he still hadn't seen the aura around her. Fire, however, was still a mystery.

"Toph." Aang stared at her blankly for a few seconds before shaking his head and answering.

"Well, Toph, we have to take care of your wounds. By the way, I'm Aang. The flying bison is Appa and the lemur is Momo."

"So you're the Avatar that every Fire Nation soldier I meet is looking for…Fine, Twinkle-toes, can you help me with the cut on my back?" She scowled. Obviously, she didn't like to have to ask for help. He sat down on the ground while she took her shirt off, leaving her in her underclothes. Aang was thankful that she was blind; it kept her oblivious to his slight blush as she looked at her… She really was pretty.

'_Stop thinking like that! She trust you to fix up her wound…Are you ready to break that trust so soon? Get going!" screamed his sub conscience. _

An agonizing scream, a few sand columns and an hour later, Toph was lying on the ground, curled up in a tight ball. Aang had fallen asleep on the opposite side of camp, covered in sand. This was courtesy of Toph's sand columns. They were both exhausted yet Aang, for once, had a nightmare-free night.

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Zhao was furious. No, that was an understatement. He was positively hopping mad. All of his prisoners had escaped and not only had he lost half of his crew, he had lost his ship as well. They lost precious time getting to shore and then lost even more time while they determined who and how many were missing. _'Well, the only good thing about this whole affair is that we didn't lose the most precious thing on board. I might yet live after I accomplish Her mission.'_

He stepped out of the forest into the brightly lit beach. He called to the man he had named first mate and told him that they were to start making a new boat as soon as they could. They had to continue on their way to the North Pole as fast as they could. He called the second mate and old him to send some men out to search the island that they had landed on. Once he was alone again, he turned back into the forest.

'_Not to worry, Zuko, I'll come after you as soon as I complete this mission. I'm not one to give up on such a prey that easily. You'll regret the day you were born after I'm through with you. Beware; I'll always be lurking in the least expected places. You mad a dangerous enemy the day you opposed me for the first time.'_

With a sinister bark of laughter, Zhao made his way back to the beach, already starting to plan exactly how he was going to have his revenge on the ex-Fire Prince. A few seconds later, a smirk was gracing his features. He had the perfect idea. Zuko had better watch out if he wanted to survive past the spring equinox.

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Sokka couldn't see anything. He was, for an infinite second, absolutely nowhere at all. Then, he was standing in front of a pond of water with two fish swimming in it. A great wave of sadness washed over him. It was like the pond where Yue had sacrificed herself. In the sky above him, he could see the moon shining brightly. And suddenly, She was there. La, the water goddess was there, floating all around him. He could feel her there.

When she spoke, it was a multitude of voice speaking. "You have been granted a special favour from the moon spirit. Her human form, my daughter, Yue, was taken a while ago, as you know very well. But for the last few months, Yue has been growing weaker with each passing cycle of the moon. She yearns for you, Sokka of the Water Tribe. She yearns so deeply that it is destroying her. I have delegated Zhao, who was brought here by the Water Spirit, to bring your spirit and body to the North Pole so your spirit may join hers on the moon. You will lose your mortal life but gain an immortal one. You will die in the humans' world yet just start to live in the Spirit World. You will be with Yue. Now, you must return to the mortal worl for the time being. We will see each other again very soon, my son. Depart; you must keep an eye on Zhao. Good luck my son."

And with that, she was gone. Sokka stayed for a second longer then found himself at Zhao's side, watching the man. He was filled with a mission. With a reason to keep on bearing the pain that being so close to his mortal coil caused him. He was ready to complete the quest that La had given him. He was ready to live to die. Sokka followed Zhao out of the clearing.

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Phew…that was long! I know that Azula was out of character but she's going through a traumatic experience so allow for character changes…Tomaku is a self-insert. Tell me what you think of him! Well, have a nice Sunday…or whatever day it is where you are!!! Please **R n' R**, it makes me feel all fuzzy inside. :-)


	9. Freedom

**Disclaimer**: Nope, I didn't get Avatar for Christmas, or Hanukkah, or Kwanza. (sigh).

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Katara awoke with a strange feeling of warmth and comfort. Her face flushed as she remembered her outburst from the night before. She had **cried** in front of Zuko…and he hadn't laughed. Her memories were a bit hazy yet she could remember that, surprisingly, Zuko had been nice for a change. No, not civil, actually **nice**. She slowly opened her eyes, reluctant to get up. Her face turned crimson in under a second. She was in Zuko's arms. She tried to move away, but thought better. After all, the chances were that he would wake up if she moved too suddenly. She slowly tried to pry his arms away from her but he was too strong, and just held on tighter. _'Evil firebender…He just **has** to be stronger than me. For once, it would be fun if I could be some really muscled guy.' _The image of Zuko's body with her head on it interposed itself in her mind. She shook with repressed giggles. Zuko would **not** appreciate her kind of humour…

Zuko woke from his dreamless sleep to find a certain waterbender lying in his arm, shaking with laughter that seemed to be directed towards him. He growled. "What's so funny, peasant? Water peasant, I'm talking to you!" Katara had had a sharp intake of breath when she had noticed that he was awake. Her eyes strayed to meet his. She shivered. His golden eyes were so…intense. _'What am I thinking? How did I ever fall as low as to betray Aang and Sokka so badly? He is, and always was the enemy!' _However, a treacherous voice in the back of her head spoke up. _'Then why did he save your life?'_ She rolled her eyes. And was reminded of just how close she was to the Fire Prince. They both just lay there for a second. Then suddenly, they were pushing away and dusting off their clothes, trying to stay as far away from each other as they could. Katara could feel her cheeks burning with embarrassment. She should have pushed him away when she had first awoken, no matter how awkward it would have been. She refused to look at the confused prince.

Zuko's mind was still reeling. When he and the little waterbender had locked eyes, everything around them had ceased to exist. It had been a very strange experience for him. And it had reminded him, in a very bad and unpleasant way of a time when his father had tried to force him to bed a girl. Not just any girl, though. It had been the very daughter of the general against whom he had spoken out. It had been just before the Agni Kai that had changed his life. He shuddered. Yes, it was preferable to forget those horrible experiences… He stilled his hands when he noticed that he had been dusting off invisible dust from his shirt. That waterbending girl was making him act like a fool. And no one made a fool of Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation. No one. Ever.

After a minute of agonizing silence when the tension could have been cut with a knife, Katara lifted her eyes from the ground, unable to bear it any longer. The first thing that she noticed was that Prince Zuko was looking straight at her. And not in a good way. She could see a predatory gleam in his eyes. He was giving her the infamous you'd-better-run-if-you-value-your-life glare. Katara just chuckled. This time, she had water to defend herself with.

Zuko's look shifted from angry to furious when he heard the waterbender laugh at him. _'How dare she…'_ She was going to beg for his pardon on her knees after he was finished with her. Without any warning, he pounced on her, pinning her wrists to the grounds. Katara managed to squirm her way free and pushed Zuko as hard as she could manage. To her great chagrin, he didn't even deign to growl. Zuko smirked. She was so weak without her bending…

Katara frowned, almost as if she could hear his thoughts. They were crouching, still glaring heatedly at one another. Katara shot a water whip at Zuko be he evaporated it before it even touched him. A few ice-spikes and fire blasts later, Zuko had to admit that she had gotten better. Even if it was only an insignificant bit next to his power. He knew that without the aid of the moon, there was no way that she could better him. The thought made him smirk. It was going to be a lot of fun toying with her.

The waterbender in question, thoroughly unaware of Zuko's sadistic tendencies, water-whipped him in the face while he was in deep thought. This time, he finally fell down, to her great satisfaction. "Hah! Water Tribe: 1; Zuko: 0." Zuko slowly got to his feet, his face darker than a thundercloud.

He moved so fast that Katara didn't catch it until it was too late: she was pinned to a tree, his arms on both sides of her head, preventing all escape. And to her horror, both hands were smoking. "Shit," she whispered. She had to count on Zuko's mercy; since there was no way that she was going to be able to waterbend without any hand movement. _'No, wait, that's right. He has no mercy…I'm really screwed.'_ Zuko grabbed her wrists with his right hand, holding them above her head. He slowly brought his left hand closer to her face. She squeaked when she saw that it was now alight with a flame. Thrashing around, she tried to free herself, but he had an iron grip on her wrists and didn't seem close to letting them go. She could feel the heat of the flame on her cheek. It was then that the full graveness of the situation hit her: Zuko wasn't just playing with her. He **would** burn her. He would hurt her. She tried to move away from the flame but Zuko just brought it closer to her face. She twisted, fighting to get away. But he was just too strong. It was then that she noticed that he cheeks were wet. She was crying. Closing her eyes, she waited for the excruciating pain to come…but nothing happened. She slowly opened her eyes. Zuko was nowhere to be seen. Crouching down, she hugged her knees in relief. She was shaking like a leaf. She was just happy to be alive. For the first time in her life, she was truly afraid of a man. And she was ashamed of it.

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As soon as he saw the tears streaming down the waterbender's cheeks, something had broken inside of him. She had been afraid of him. So afraid that the spark of defiance that always shone in her eyes had gone out. Zuko's hands shook as he brought them up to his face. He had almost _burned_ the waterbender out of cold-blooded intention. He had been going to inflict the pain that he had felt those four years ago to her. He shuddered slightly, remembering. Even if she traveled with the Avatar, there was no way that she deserved to go through what he had. No one did…Azula was the only question mark in his mind. But there was no way that Katara deserved that. No way.

He couldn't believe what he had almost done. He had almost done something that only his cruel sister would have thought of doing. He was becoming as bad, if not worse than that monster. He was becoming worse than the person that he hated the most. He was…sorry. The realisation hit him like a ton of rocks. What he had to do was obvious, for once. It was going to be one of the hardest things that he had ever been put up against. Apologizing to the waterbender…to Katara. That was going to be difficult. But it had to be done. Not only for the mission that Avatar Roku had given him, but for his sanity, to save his soul. And hers. Slowly getting to his feet, he marched off determinedly towards the spot where he had left Katara. This was going to be an awkward moment between souls on the verge of breaking…

Once Zuko had left, Katara had shakingly gotten to her feet. Everything felt …surreal. As if it had all been a hallucination. Or even better: a dream. Her thoughts were slowly drawn to what Zuko had said earlier: she was the reincarnations of Water. She had to find Aang. She knew she had to. It was time to leave Zuko and get on her way to fulfilling her promise to the last airbender.

Once she was on her feet, She just started walking to the middle of nowhere, following her "instincts". Unbeknownst to her, a certain firebender was slowly gaining on her, propelled by the knowledge that he had broken her soul and that it was going to take a lot more than half-hearted excuses to make her pardon him. No matter how slim his chance of success was, he ploughed on, refusing to give up. He knew that time was almost up. They were going towards the place where the sun sets, where Roku had said they would find the Avatar. It was only a matter of days.

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When Azula woke up, she was being bumped around. She slowly opened her eyes and saw Tomaku staring down at her. She almost chocked with indignation when she understood that she, a royal princess, was being carried around by a mere peasant. She hit his arm…and was dropped unceremoniously on the ground. Springing to her feet, she took a battle position. That whelp had no chance against her.

But he just turned and walked away, continuing down the path. _'How can he… He has less honour than my coward of a brother! He can't ignore me. After all, it's always been one of my favourite pastimes to take down moving targets. It's good aiming practice.' _She willed the crackling lightening to her fingertips. Spinning on herself, she pointed her fingers at his shrinking figure. The blue element flew through the air and hit Tomaku squarely in the back. But he didn't fall. Azula stood there with her mouth open. Then, quick as a fox, she shot a few more bolts his way, each one hitting its mark, but with no effect. Any other human would have been completely destroyed after having that amount of ravaging power coursing through them. But this boy, this young man, just kept on walking as if he hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary. This was an unforeseen development.

Tomaku was grinning widely by the time that Azula caught up with him. He could almost hear her mental shrieks of anger. She was mad at him; there was no question about him. She skidded in front of him, blocking his path. He raised a questioning eyebrow at her. "Yes?" Her eyes shone with barely contained fury. Taking a deep breath, she started on her ravaging rant.

"How dare you…After that, all you have to say is 'yes'? Come on, you don't really expect me to tale that kind of cow dung! I know you did something so my lightening wouldn't hurt you. Don't deny it!" When Tomaku didn't respond any more than before, she growled. "Ugh…You are so dead!" With a shriek of anger, she pounced on him, making them both fall to the ground. More by reflex than by anything else, she shot lightening at his chest. It didn't affect him any more than before. This, instead of appeasing her anger, did the contrary. They wrestled and rolled around on the ground, both refusing to give up.

After a few minutes, they started to tire. Azula, still injured, was starting to loose momentum but Tomaku's exhaustion didn't give him an edge. Another fifteen minutes found them both lying on the ground, breathing heavily. No one had managed to gain the upper hand so they had reached a silent consensus of sorts. It was a truce, for the rest of the day at least. But even exhaustion didn't take away Azula's curiosity. She just _had_ to know how the older boy had blocked her attacks. His speciality eliminated any advantage that she would have had over any other human because of her superior bending. _'Too bad…I'm just going to have to find another of his weaknesses. That shouldn't be that hard, seeing that he seems to be intimidated by me anyways. At least, he'd better be…' _She breathed deeply.

"Tomaku, how is it that you're not affected by me? If you were a normal human, you would be completely fried by now." She tried her best to appear casual about finding the answer to the question, convinced that he wouldn't answer if he knew how much she wanted, no, needed to know. She was lucky that she stopped talking when she did. Tomaku squirmed mentally. She really didn't realize what other meaning her words could have. _'It's a good thing that she can't see my thoughts. I mean, why did she have to ask if I was affected by her…Of course I am! But not by her bending…'_ He shook his head, and saw Azula looking at him extremely inquisitively. Smiling slightly, he stood up.

"Azula, I'll explain that, and other things, once we get going. We had better find a village close to here so we can go get supplies. After all, I doubt that any villager would refuse to give two poor wandering vagabonds food, eh princess? Let's go."

The young woman chose to ignore the fact that he had not only used her title mockingly but that he had just given her an indirect order. She just gritted her teeth ever so slightly. _'I suppose that this is the price for the information…It had better be worth it!'_ She slowly picked herself off the ground, deliberately showing that she was in no hurry to follow Tomaku's order. Dusting off the simple cloth clothing that Admiral Zhao had put her in she chose a direction and headed off, with Tomaku at her side. It was time to catch Zuzu, and to make him pay. She was starting to tire of this boy whom she couldn't harm. She was slowly discovering what it was like to be almost powerless. And she didn't like it one bit.

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After days of walking, Katara stumbled into a clearing where she saw the person that she had been searching for. In the light of the overhead sun, Aang was sleeping peacefully next to Appa, with the most peaceful expression she had ever seen on his face. While walking over to him, she noticed a girl, only a few years younger than herself lying on the ground. But that wasn't what caught her eye. The girl was surrounded by a green halo. _'I guess that that makes her Earth…'_

"And who would you be?"

Katara whipped back around to glare at the girl. Who was she, anyways? Glancing to her right, she saw that Aang was still sleeping.

"So, who are you? There's something strange about the way your steps sound…Kind of like Twinkle Toe's, but different too. It's colourful, even if I've never seen colours before. What's your name, Sugar Queen?"

"I'm Katara. I think my steps vibrate differently because I'm Water. You're Earth. Aang's Air. I had been traveling with him for almost a year before we were separated. I'm a Master Waterbender. And you would be-"

"Toph," said Aang as he woke up, hearing the discussion between the two girls. Katara ran towards him, hugging him tightly. Neither let go for a few seconds. Then they both pulled away, looking slightly embarrassed. However, the grin that spread on both of their faces was enough to break through any discomfort they might have felt. The girl called Toph just stood there, waiting for the inevitable flurry of questions that everyone always had the first time they met her. But for the second time in two days, she was surprised. Neither Aang nor Katara had become uneasy around her because of her "disability". They accepted her as any other twelve year-old girl: with warmth and friendship.

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Zuko had followed Katara for what seemed to be a never-ending march. He had figured out who they were looking for just a few minutes before she had stumbled into the Avatar's camp. When he had seen the waterbender rush into the airbender's arms, he had felt a strange pinch in his chest. Like always, he pushed it away. He wasn't allowed to feel. When he had seen the girl with the girl with the green aura, he had smiled slightly. It had taken a lot less time to find the other reincarnations than he had thought it would. At least a dead avatar could be proud of him…it was all he had. He really was scraping rock bottom.

He spent the rest of daylight watching them and listening to their stories from various places all around the world. It was actually very interesting. When he heard that the little waterbender's mother had died in a Fire Nation raid, he felt his stomach drop. He knew that the Fire Lord had no mercy, but to kill a five year-old's mother right in front of her innocent eyes… That was too far. As the day passed, he heard more and more things that could be of some interest, if his position about the Avatar had been a bit clearer. When dusk finally fell, his stomach started to growl softly. Things only got worse when the three people in the camp started to prepare their night-time meal. He was almost amazed that Katara hadn't come running towards him because of all the noise he was making.

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Toph had waited until all the others were asleep before she approached the person that she had felt standing just outside the camp. His heartbeat seemed strangely coloured, like Katara and Aang's. Thinking of Sugar Queen's explanation, she figured that this older boy was Fire. She poked him in the shoulder, slowly feeling his heartbeat accelerate. He was waking up.

The boy was actually quite fast on his feet. If this was the firebender that Aang and Katara kept talking about, then his name was Zuko, and, contrarily to what they had said, he didn't seem that dangerous. But you were never too careful around firebenders. Or anyone else. Zuko just stood there for a few seconds, breathing steadily. Toph could have screamed. He wasn't moving on purpose. That meant that he had been spying on them. For how long? Suddenly, he spoke up. "Don't tell Katara that I'm here. Not yet." The young earthbender just nodded. She didn't owe him anything. But there was also her personal gain to be taken into account. She took a deep breath.

"I will tell her eventually, though. She needs to know that the Fire Prince is traveling behind us. And I'm guessing that you'll want to come with us when we leave this island to go after Fire Lord Ozai, or wherever else we go after that. I'll give you a max of five days without her knowing, then I'll spill the beans whether you want me to or not. No more and no less." She spat into her palm then stuck it out, waiting for Zuko to do the same.

Only a few minutes later, both of them were asleep again, unconsciously counting down in their heads to the time when a certain waterbender would receive the shock of her life. After all, how many times in your life did you get to be informed that the person who almost killed you and whose guts you hated was going to be traveling with you for an undetermined period of time…

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After hours of endless trekking, they had finally given in to exhaustion on the side of the path. As much as she hated to admit it, Azula had, in the very back of her head, been grateful for the rest. _'This boy is making me turn soft! I won't have it! I will not!' _Yet she fell asleep as promptly as Tomaku once they had lain down. The next time she opened her eyes, the sun was blazing. And Tomaku was already up. She grumbled something that sounded suspiciously like "goat-kis…idiot! He'll…soon…what it's…obey!" Tomaku just smiled. He was going to crack her façade, whether she wanted it or not. Not would be a lot more fun though…

He grabbed her sleeve and dragger her off in the general direction of where they thought the village was. Azula pulled her arm away and, for good measure, punched him in the shoulder. Tomaku grinned. And punched back. Azula's mouth hung open. Not using her title was one thing. _Punching_ her was another. She couldn't let this continue, or she would loose all power over the strange boy. Strong in her resolution, she stalked away, leaving a smiling Tomaku alone in the dust. His plan was going perfectly: phase one was already completed. When they finally reached the village, Tomaku suggested that they find jobs, since they had no money. At least they would then be in measure of buying some supplies, no matter how little the amount that they would be able to purchase.

Azula grumbled and grunted but, deep down, she knew that the annoying boy was right after all. As much as she hated to admit it, she was used to terrorizing everybody with the wrath and power of the Fire Nation, but now that she was no longer princess, she was sure that Tomaku wouldn't let her. That thought made her simmer. Someone deciding what she could and couldn't do! It was preposterous. She should have been able to find a way to steal his honour, or at least beat him in a fight, fair or not. Why did her lightening have no effect on him? That was the key to everything.

She realized that Tomaku had left her all alone. Rolling her eyes, she set off towards the village inn. That was the place where she had the most chance of finding work. She pushed the door into the dimly lit common room. Men and women alike occupied the sears, most with mugs containing something that looked like ale. _'Great! The royal princess gets to serve a gang of drunk common's people…'_ She made her way to the round woman who seemed to be in charge of all the chaotic serving. As soon as she caught sight of Azula, the foremost grabbed her and twirled into the kitchen. "Hello dear! You will be paid five silver coins per hour. Just follow the other girls, they'll tell you what to do. Is that okay?" The woman didn't wait for an answer and twirled away, taking for granted that Azula agreed.

The latter was surprised when a plate was put in her hands and she was pushed out towards a table. She looked around for a second, and then put it on the table in front of a sour-looking old man. She was almost immediately dragged away by another girl. "You'll have to be quicker than that if you want to get any of the tips…" After her first table, the rest of the day was a blur of rushing in and out of the kitchen, bringing food and drink, dodging wandering hands and collecting a few rare tips. By the time they started to clean up before the evening rush, Azula was exhausted. The other girls smiled at her, and helped whenever she was lost. It felt…nice to be part of a group, to not be considered as a separate and emotionless person, as someone strange.

As soon as she realized what she had been thinking, she pushed it as far out of her head as she could. Yet while she scrubbed the tables with renewed vigour, the feeling of warmth stayed wrapped around her heart. Once they finished cleaning, the other girls invited her to share their dinner. A hearty bowl of stew later, they were all sitting down together, waiting for the evening customers to arrive when the door flew open. To Azula's surprise, Tomaku came in. His face seemed to light up when he caught sight of her. "A…uh, Sitka, I'm working at the blacksmith's and he wants me to stay overnight so we can get more done. You'll be okay here? Well, see you in the morning." And to her horror, he hugged her. In front of all the serving maids. She couldn't deny that it fell…nice, but in front of all the others! He winked comically at her then turned and left without another word. Azula could feel her cheeks burning.

The other girls surrounded her. They all had an evil gleam in their eyes. One of them spoke up, in a teasing tone. "Now, you have to tell us who that young man was. You're stuck all night with us so spill." Azula felt her anger rise up to the challenge. These girls expected her to do what they said. Her, a princess!_ 'Well, I am going to be a princess again, no matter what anyone says!'_ She opened her mouth, determined to give them a sound berating when she noticed the twinkling in their eyes. This was all good-natured banter that they were willing to include her in, like any other girl her age. They accepted her like any other young woman, because they didn't know who she was. Changing what she was gong to say, she took a deep breath…and was interrupted by the door opening again. She turned around so quickly to see who was coming in that the other girls all giggled. A group of men entered. Tomaku wasn't among them. She sighed in relief then got to her feet. The evening rush had begun.

As the night went on, Azula's yawns became more and more frequent until the round woman named Chesa sent her and three other girls up to the attic to sleep. As soon as her head touched the pillow, she was in a deep and imperturbable sleep. Hours later, just before sunrise, the door creaked open. A shadow entered, and then closed the door behind it. Azula slept on.

(A/n: This is Azula's dream.)

_She was flying over a camp. Or what was left of it. Everywhere, glowing embers could be seen reminiscent of the large fire that had ravaged the entire region. Azula felt her breath catch as she remembered what had happened there. The small gang had attacked swiftly: they had been caught off guard. Before long, all the tents were burning. Ty Lee and Mai had gone off to fight, each on her own side. Unfortunately, the band of bandits had been a lot better prepared than they had thought at first sight. Taking advantage of the darkness that blanketed them, the scoundrels ha killed Azula's two closest things to friends…and everyone else in the camp, except for Azula. They didn't find her quickly enough. When the sun had started to rise, they had disappeared like mist in front of the rays of sunlight._

_Azula screamed, trying to stop the flood of memories from submerging her. It couldn't happen. She wouldn't allow herself to remember. However, the images kept on streaming before her eyes. She had walked around the camp, expecting Mai or Ty Lee to pop up from the next tent she searched, from the next corner she turned… That is, until she rounded a corner and saw the message that the bandits had left her. There, on two pikes, facing her with their hard and empty eyes, were Mai and Ty Lee's heads, almost burnt beyond recognition. She just stood there for a few seconds then felt an incredible cry of pain and suffering fill her from the inside. Azula stared at herself, finally letting all the pain she had felt course through her. A single tear made its way from her golden eyes down her cheek, dropping on the ground. It was followed by many others._

(A/n: End of Azula's dream.)

She slowly opened her eyes, fully conscious of the weakness that she had shown. It was then that she noticed that her cheeks were wet. She had really been crying. That just didn't sound right.

"You finally rejoin us in the land of the awakened, princess. If you've been paid, we should go on our way."

It was left unsaid that someone might discover that they were firebenders, one of them from the royal family. It was also left unsaid that punishments or repercussions their discovery might have. Azula sat up and quickly tied her hair up again. When she was putting her shoes on, her hand happened to brush the bedside table. A piece of metal clattered to the floor. She smiled inwardly. Chesa had already paid her. She stood up, grabbed one of the bags of supplies that Tomaku had bought and they left the village of Myreiku behind them, the sun not even half risen yet.

Tomaku's mind was moving at full speed while they walked in a sort of companionable silence. When she had been sleeping, he had seen her face pass from the most peaceful he had ever seen her to contorted in pain. She had softly whispered two names, and then tears had streamed down her face. He had wanted to comfort her somehow but hadn't dared, afraid that she might react in the wrong way. He wasn't sure about how far he could go with ignoring her royal title and stature before she snapped. His thoughts were interrupted by the subject of his inner turmoil.

"You said you would explain everything when we had time. We're going to be walking pretty much all day. So get going."

Tomaku had to refrain himself from sighing. This was gong to be a very long and unpleasant experience. _'May as well get it over with as soon as possible…' _He glanced at Azula and seeing that she was glaring at him impatiently, he decided to start from the beginning. "You never said anything to me about being Zhao's prisonner yet I already knew about it. First, you have to know my situation. The only reason that I ended up being first mate was that I was the best sailor on the whole ship. The rest of the crew, people a lot richer than me, didn't take that very well and it wasn't long before I was pretty much cut off from information not essential to my post: any person that Zhao charged with a message for me somehow 'forgot'. Zhao figured it out after a while, but I think he found it more amusing and useful than impeding. I had to find out everything for myself, with the help of a grand total of two crewmen. I didn't know that you were on the ship until Zhao moved you from your cell to talk to you. My agent caught sight of you and warned me: I listened in on the whole conversation, so don't bother asking me how much I heard."

Azula felt the blood drain from her face. He knew. He knew everything that had happened. But he had still sworn a kind of fealty towards her. It didn't make sense. To hide her trouble, she accelerated her pace. Tomaku, with longer legs, kept up easily.

"I know you're not technically princess anymore. And figured that you might want to have your revenge on the Fire Lord. That's just a fancy way to say that you want to destroy him. The Avatar does too. And I'll bet your brother is ready to snap: no matter what he does, your father keeps on refusing and demoting him. I figure that we have a chance to get him. And to stop the war. Stop all the useless killing. He stopped talking abruptly, breathing deeply. He wasn't sure how she would take the last statement, but that didn't really matter. He was pretty sure that her curiosity about his bending would outweigh any anger that she felt towards him._ 'Better not risk it anyways…'_ He continued out loud.

"Moving on to my bending abilities, I'm pretty sure that you're still wondering how I block you lightening without moving." At this, Azula rolled her eyes. "And if I were you, I'd be wondering if I could learn to do it too. Well, it's actually a really strange thing that my _chi_ does. But only for fire and lightening. It king of…absorbs the power of the attack that was sent towards me. I'm not really sure how I picked it up, but I've been able to do it ever since I can remember. The lightening hits my body, but instead of burning me, it disappears. However, it does leave a mark, no matter how slight."

Azula stared. "What do you mean, a mark?" For an answer, the older boy loosened the top of his tunic, baring the top right part of his chest. Azula ground her teeth to avoid gasping. There was a half-moon silver insignia that looked tattooed onto his skin. All around it, small lines of sliver naked off. Unconsciously, her hand went up to brush it. "That's where I hit you with my lightening when we were wrestling the other day, isn't it?" He just nodded. "Does it hurt?" He smiled, and then shook his head. Azula then seemed to notice what she was doing and lowered her had back to her side, blushing slightly. But only slightly on the outside. Inside, however, she was berating herself for looking so stupid.

They continued to walk, slightly embarrassed, but fiercely fighting it. Azula was praying that she could learn the _chi_ thing. With that power, it was gong to be a lot easier to learn more lightening bending without hurting herself too badly. The one part of Tomaku's plan that really bothered her was that he wanted to join up with Zuko AND the Avatar. As if one public enemy number one wasn't enough for him! Bu the cold strategic part of her knew that it was the best option. So they ploughed on, readying themselves to join the people who had been considered as enemies of the Fire Nation for a very long time.

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Days had passed, yet Toph and Aang kept on delaying the time of departure. Katara, however, took no notice of what they were up to. After a few days, Toph had managed to slip Aang the knowledge that the firebender was watching them from afar. They had agreed that, somehow, Katara was going to be informed since they were going to have to bring Zuko with them on Appa without Katara trying to kill him.

One of the many things that Toph had noticed was that every single time she or Aang mentioned the firebender's name; Katara's heartbeat went up, as if she was either very scared or very angry at him. This was a daily puzzle that could occupy hours of her time, just imagining what Zuko had done to Katara to get her so angry. It ended up taking a lot less time to find the answer than Toph had originally thought. Katara had been washing her clothes and practicing her waterbending when she heard Toph and Aang talking with a third voice that sounded a bit familiar but that she couldn't place. A few seconds later, she was storming towards the camp, furious. How did he _dare_ come near her after what he had done? And Toph and Aang actually talked to him! It was time for her to teach that cocky piece of Fire Nation scum a good lesson that he wouldn't forget.

She stomped into camp, looking around to catch sight of the Prince she wanted to annihilate. Toph and Aang were standing there, trying to look innocent and completely bored. They failed abysmally. She stood in front of them, hands on her hips, glaring at them with all her might. "Where is he?" she growled. The two younger children looked at each other guiltily then Aang looked at her with the look of someone doing a distasteful task. He pointed towards a clump of bushes that started quivering as soon as she started walking towards them with measured steps. Zuko was going to get it.

Before she had the chance to drag him out from behind the bush like a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar, he stepped out, dusting his clothes off and glaring at Aang in a _very_ childish way. Katara opened her mouth, ready to start yelling at him. But he forestalled her with his extended hand, palm up. "Katara, I've come to…apologize." To her credit, Katara did NOT faint at this more than strange offer from the scarred boy. She punched him with all her strength in the jaw. It was then that Toph and Aang decided that it was the perfect moment to creep away quietly, leaving the two protagonists alone to fix their problems.

Zuko winced when Katara hit him. Not from the pain: he almost didn't feel it, but from her hostility to his mere presence. Glancing at her, he saw that her eyes were blazing with anger. And was that a background of fear that he saw? She slapped him for emphasis. "That's for scaring me… I can't afford to be scared of anyone, anymore. I can't. But you scared me. You're not allowed to." She was fighting tears. When she lifted her hand to hit him again, Zuko caught it. She _had_ to understand. She had to.

When she felt his calloused hand close on her wrist, her eyes automatically flew up to meet his. She found that she couldn't look away. When he finally spoke, she involuntarily shivered.

"Listen, Katara. I don't know what happened then any more than you do. I was like one second I was in my body, fighting you, and the next I was being tied up and thrown into a corner of my mind where I couldn't control my actions. I was watching me hurt you, but I couldn't stop it. It was a different sort of agony. And then, I was suddenly untied, and in control again. You were crying and I knew that it was all my fault, even though I hadn't wanted to do it. I left right away. I'm really…sorry Katara, I really am. You didn't deserve that. No one does. Azula is the only person I know who would do that to another human. But I almost did."

Katara smiled sadly. He was telling the truth. Didn't he realize that his father had done that to him too? She whispered in a soft voice, "How can you be sure it won't happen again? Maybe next time you won't be able to come back in control before you hurt someone badly. How do you know it won't happen?"

He shrugged his shoulders and grabbed both of her hands in his, holding them gently yet firmly. "I won't let myself hurt you, no matter what. Believe me. I owe you my sanity. I won't le me hurt the one person who believes that there's at least a bit of good in me. I'm one person you won't have to worry about." He looked down at Katara, trying to see if she truly believed him. Trying to see if she could at least allow herself to trust him a tiny bit. When she squeezed his hand with the shadow of a smile on her lips, he felt a great weight that he hadn't know that he had been carrying lift from hi heart.

Katara slowly went back to the river to continue washing her clothes. She found that no matter how much she tried to stop, a smile kept on floating to her lips. Once the washing was finished, she decided that it was time for a real waterbending workout. Shedding to her underclothes, she waded until she was thigh-deep in the water. Then she started an incredibly complicated drill that consisted of combining ice and vapour into a shield then covering it with always moving water. It could hold off any earth, air, fire or water attack but required a level of skill that only she, Master Pakku and Aang possessed. After creating said shield six times, she was so tired that she let herself drop into the water and hardly bothered to create a sheet of ice to float on. It felt great to be in the water again…

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

After a couple days of walking in growing tension, Azula had finally bent her pride enough to ask Tomaku for lessons in controlling her _chi_. However, it wasn't only for personal reasons that she had so far refused to do so. This would put Tomaku in a commanding position. He would have more power, more authority than she would. And this experience was going to make her even less intimidating than she already was. They would almost be equals. That was never good news when someone had sworn to do whatever they felt was in your best interest.

When they stopped for lunch, she tapped Tomaku on the shoulder. "…Err, Tomaku, I was wondering whether you could start to teach me that thing that you do with your _chi_? It would be great if you could. I mean that I would really like it a lot." Noticing that she was babbling, she clamped her mouth shut. Tomaku nodded enthusiastically, as if he had been expecting it all along. "Now, princess, stand up facing any direction. Then think of a sort of shield protecting you, unbreakable. Now, react!" With that, he shot a burst of flame at her. She just had the time to dodge. Another blast flew incredibly quickly towards her. After dodging eight successive blows, she crumbled to her knees. Tomaku sighed good-naturedly. This was going to take longer than he had hoped. Azula opened her eyes slowly. Blinking a few times to remove the residue of unconsciousness, she asked, "What happened?"

"Well, when you were jumping around, avoiding my blasts, you actually opened your _chi_ block slightly. But since you weren't using it for anything, it just flowed out of you. You'll have to wait a few minutes before you're completely steady on your feet again. Do you want to try it again, once you're steady?" She nodded. Tomaku waited patiently for the younger teenager to get up. Repeating his instructions, he sent a blast of fire at Azula. She dodged again, unable to stay still and wait for the blinding flame to hit her. He sighed again. This wasn't working. There had to be an easier way to teach her how to make a shield without stepping too much on her pride. All of a sudden, he had a flash of brilliance. "Azula, if you enter my shield, you'll feel what it's like and you'll probably be able to figure out how to make one. But don't look at mine or you'll probably be thrown out. Come my way backwards and I'll extend my shield as far as I can."

The ex-princess looked at him dubitatively but turned around and closed her eyes. Tomaku felt for the shield around him, pushing it as far as he could without breaking it. It barely spread a foot in front of him. Azula kept on backing up, fighting her instincts who were telling her that she should open her eyes, that she couldn't trust Tomaku. Gingerly, she kept on going. It was a while before she felt anything. A vague tingling slowly becoming stronger was the only thing she perceived before a feeling of great warmth invaded her body. The warmth felt extremely protective. All notions of that disappeared when she took a half a step backwards and collided softly with Tomaku's body. Warmth coursed through her as she lingered a second longer than needed. She whirled around and opened her eyes. They just stared at each other.

Tomaku was the first to break the silent spell that seemed to have taken both of the m over. "Did you feel it?" Azula blushed. His simple sentence could have a lot of meaning._ 'But I am the leader, the commander, the one he pretty much swore fealty to. I don't have time for these petty things. Come on, Zula, take a hold of yourself!'_ Concentrating on her experience with Tomaku's _chi_, she answered. "Yes, I felt it. And I think that I am able to do it. Attack me!"

Disconcertingly, Tomaku just stood there. A punch at her left shoulder quickly distracted her. She called her _chi_ shield as quickly as she could. But Tomaku shattered it. "Make it more resistant, Zula!" In the flurry of attacks on her _chi_, she didn't even notice what he had called her. After barely a minute of resisting with all she had, she fell to her knees. This was a lot harder than it looked! Tomaku grinned tiredly at her. "You've got it, princess. What do you say about spending the night at the next inn we find? It'll be a nice change from sleeping on the ground." To his utter surprise, Azula refused, saying that she was actually starting to get used to sleeping on the ground and that she was even sort of enjoying it. However, she did order him to get enough wood to make a huge bonfire while she went to get water to make soup with their supplies.

By the time darkness fell, a large fire was roaring. The two teenagers were eating on opposite sides of the fire, hardly having exchanged three words since their decision to stay there for the night. In the distance, a strange music started to well up. At first Azula thought that it was only her imagination but when Tomaku lifted his head, she was assured that she wasn't going crazy. The music was coming their way. After a while, five travelers entered the camp. A man with a banjo led a band of people who couldn't be mistaken for anything else then what they were: a band of nomad traveling players (A/n: Remember The Cave of The Two Lovers? Yeah, those are the guys I'm talking about.). The man looked at both of them then signalled to two of the men who grabbed Azula and Tomaku by an arm and dragged them to the strange man. "It seems that some people have a friendship problem. Where is the love? All the world really needs is peace, love, music, and flowered bracelets! Come on, sing with me!"

_When all around the world_

_War comes a-knocking_

_We come along singing_

_Our hearts will twirl_

_The world just needs peace, love, music,_

_And don't forget the bracelets_

_This knowledge is pretty basic_

_And flies like a tercelet_

_Let's dance and sing_

_Happiness everywhere we'll bring!_

(A/n: Blame the horrible song on me…it was done in about 5 minutes.) By the end of the strange song, he was dancing around in a circle with the other Players, all seeming extremely happy. Azula and Tomaku exchanged a pair of bewildered looks before being dragged into the dance. To her great surprise, Azula was actually enjoying herself…up until the thought that Ty Lee would have adored this little group hit her. The man with the banjo noticed almost immediately. He inconspicuously led the dancers over to the fire where the Players all started to heat cups of a strange liquid.

"This helps to send unhappiness packing. Try it, girl." Azula took the mug sceptically. Looking around, she saw that Tomaku was drinking it so she took a large gulp. It tasted wonderful: her stomach was suddenly very warm and she felt her sorrow slowly receding. Turning towards the man, she asked, "Um, what's in this drink?" The man grinned toothily at her. "Naught but a cup of happiness." The rest of the night passed like a blur. She only remembered having a few more mugs of whatever the Players had brought, then falling asleep amidst the sound of music and laughter.

When she finally opened her eyes, the camp was quiet. All around her, people slept. Even Tomaku. She slowly stretched and got up. It was time to do a bit of exercise…without lightening bending, just to be sure that no one found out who she was. She silently made her way through the forest to the edge of the water, breathing deeply. For once, she could relax alone in the peace of the early morning. She smiled, slowly going through her tai chi moves. Everything was so calm this morning…

Tomaku had been creeping silently behind a certain princess ever since she had awoken. It was time for part two of his master plan. When she had headed towards the water, he had smiled. This was going to be fun! He waited until she was completely absorbed by her exercises before he pounced on her, restraining her flailing arms and jumped into the water, clutching the squirming fire princess at his side. When he resurfaced, Azula pushed herself as far away from him as she could, spluttering. "Why…you…" And with those dignified words, she collapsed into full blown laughter. It had been such a long time since she had laughed without a sarcastic connotation or mirthlessly…It felt so good. It felt like she was finding her soul again. However, that didn't stop her from taking her well-deserved revenge on Tomaku.

Diving under the water, she pulled his feet out from under him. He toppled down and Azula erupted into the air with a cry of victory…that was cut short by a certain firebender who grabbed her by the waist and dragger her under. What had started as a plan devised by Tomaku had become a full-blown water fight.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Aang had finally decided that it was time for them to get going. Katara was still unsure about where "there" was, but she had helped make the preparations anyways, swearing to herself that she would corner Aang somewhere and wring the answer out of him, even if she needed to use excessive strength. She walked purposely towards him, schooling her face to an expressionless demeanour. When Aang saw Katara's determined look, he wisely noticed that Toph needed help with Appa's saddle and fled as quickly as he could. Note taken: avoid Katara for today, as she seemed just a bit too eager to tear him from limb to limb. How could he ever distract her from…? It was then that he saw Zuko come out of the forest, looking completely clueless. Aang grinned widely: his answer had been standing in front of him for most of the day. "Hey, Zuko…Katara wanted to ask you a favour."

A few minutes later, Zuko was dragging a very unhappy waterbender towards the stream. When he finally let go of her, she straightened her clothes then yelled, very loudly, "What do you think you're doing? What is your problem? Since when do you have the right to drag me off whenever you want? Who do-" She cut off as she blocked a fire blast from Zuko. He was a lot more confused than angry. The girl wasn't making any sense at all.

"What are you talking about? You're the one who asked the Av-, I mean, who asked Aang to ask me for a sparring session!" Needless to say, this caught Katara's interest.

"I would never stoop to asking someone else to ask you to spar!"

"What, you wanted to ask me yourself?"

Katara growled angrily. "That's not what I meant and you know it…Wait a second, did you say that it was Aang who asked you?" Zuko nodded. They exchanged an enlightened glace before Katara voice both of their feelings. "Let's get him." They rushed into the camp and elbowed each other to be the first one to jump on the young avatar. Someone grabbed Toph and brought her into the scuffle. When they finally untangled, they all clambered up onto Appa and, breathless, they left the camp behind. As he urged Appa into the sky, Aang smiled. His plan had worked perfectly. Katara had completely forgotten about bullying him for information.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Sokka slowly opened his eyes. He could remember what the Water Goddess had told him. It wasn't fair. He wanted to live. How could Yue do this to him, after she had chosen to die to save her people, her family? She was trying to separate him from his little sister, from his…family. It just wasn't very like Yue to be so selfish. Had she changed that much? It was then that the moon seemed to grow larger and larger until it took up the whole sky. And then, the girl disturbing Sokka so much appeared. She seemed ethereal, ephemeral, as if she would vanish the second he turned his head, the second he blinked.

"Hello Yue." She smiled slightly but seemed very nervous, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. Which was kind of hard. She floated down in front of him. Her frown increased, as if she was getting more bad news by the second.

"Hello Sokka. We don't have a lot of time. The Goddess will be looking for me. I suspect from your frown that she already came to see you and told you her version of the facts. But know that she wasn't entirely truthful. I don't want you to give up Aang and Katara and the rest of you family for me. As for me slowly dying, that part is true, but the sight of you added to the Goddess' magic will heal me. I won't disappear. Thank you Sokka. I still look down on you, and I have one other thing to say to do: live you life. I want to be able to see you be happy. I'm not asking you to forget me, just move on. Events have been set in motion. The final battle is approaching. The elements are gathering in the Fire Nation capital. Suki is on her way there, and she desperately needs your help."

If spirits could blush, Sokka would have been turning purple. _'How does she know about Suki?'_ He coughed twice, trying to hide his embarrassment. Yue's head suddenly swivelled to the left. "Sokka, I don't have much time left. You deserve to live, not to die. Now go, quickly! The Goddess is almost here. Try checking on your body. It'll help." She pecked him on the cheek, a touch as light as a feather, before she disappeared altogether.

Sokka turned and sped towards the shipyard where the holes in Zhao's ship caused by the prisoner's escape were being repaired. _'I hope that I understood the undercurrents of what she said properly…'_ Suddenly, he was being pulled towards something. After an incredibly hard shock, he went to stand up. Something felt wrong. He laughed when he figured out that he was back in his own body. He was alive…and he could EAT again. It felt strange, but incredibly good. The only disadvantage what that he could now feel the pain from all the wounds they had inflicted on him when he was watching from the Spirit World.

Those thoughts were relegated to the back of his mind when he heard heavy footsteps pass in front of the door of the small broom closet that he had been lying in. He had to get off the ship to go help Suki. He poked his head out of the closet. The light streaming down the stairs was a good thing: at least he wouldn't have too much trouble finding his way out of the ship in the dead of night. The only problem now was going to be differentiation the bow from the stern. It was a choice than meant the difference between breaking free and being caught. He crept as quickly as he could to the left. Clambering up the steps and squishing himself against the side of the stairwell, he could see the water of the bay all around and in front of him. This was the side he was going to have to jump off. Jump into dark water in the middle of the night when he wouldn't even be able to see his own hand in front of his face. This was almost as whacked up as trying to defeat a platypus-bear without any weapons…and one hand tied behind you back. This was going to be fun.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Once Azula and Tomaku got out of the water, they started to trudge back to the camp to join the members of the traveling Players who were just waking up. They slowly dried up by the fire before they started on their walk. No one had asked them yet if they had a fixed destination, one of the few things that she could actually be thankful for. They walked for most of the morning before they finally stopped for a snack. Azula was reflecting too deeply to notice the whispering that passed between the man with the banjo and one of the younger women.

If she had, she would have been turning bright red and buzzing with anger. They were making plans to bring the boy and the girl a great deal closer together. The wandering Players had always prided themselves on meddling in things that were none of their business. And this time would be no exception. It was going to be a lot of fun. The man had decided to go with your average package of cute and embarrassing moments. Except that they were going to try to find a few more collaborators to make the process a bit…less painful.

Azula spent the rest of the day wondering if there had been something in the Players' food that had made them go extremely insane. After all, who went around smiling like a maniac for no reason at all?

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Sokka had patiently waited for sundown, getting up every few hours to stretch out his tired limbs. When it was finally completely dark, he opened the door, closing it carefully behind him. He close to ran down the hallway, his heart beating loudly, as if it was going to beat through his chest. He climbed up the stairs and out onto the deck, praying that there weren't any guards. Under the moonlight sky, he could make out everything. He could see a lump on the ground. It took him a while to realize that it was a snoring soldier. A smile slowly crept to his lips. This was going to be a lot easier than he had thought. He dashed to the edge of the deck and jumped. The waster was incredibly warm compared to the water that he had fallen into so many times at the South Pole. He swam along the boat, brushing the metal hull with his hand.

After what seemed like an eternity, he felt the mucky bottom of the water. He crawled up the edge of the river. He had made it. He was free. He made his way to a small farm where he crawled into a pile of hay Before he knew it, he was sleeping deeply for the first time in months. The moon seemed to wink before it disappeared behind a thick mound of clouds. All was peaceful.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Katara had slowly fallen into a deep sleep on Appa's back. Aang was meditating deeply, unmoving, and Toph seemed occupied with hanging onto the saddle. Zuko was just letting his thought wander when he saw Katara slowly leaning off the saddle. She was going to fall! Zuko grabbed her arm and pulled her firmly back. She kept on sleeping, a smile gracing her features. After a while, her head lolled onto Zuko's shoulder. Instead of pushing her away, he let himself go into the soft kingdom of sleep. Appa growled softly. Every single human had managed to fall asleep. Every single one! Petty humans… He grunted again. The nice blue girl was happy: he could tell that much from her scent. The yellow friend was incredibly calm, and serene. But it was the little green girl that worried him. Something was wrong. Very wrong. And he couldn't tell a soul about.

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That was long-ish… Well, I just want to thank **hyper dragonfyre**, **minnishon** and **Zutara Lover** for reviewing last time. Sorry for the long delay between chapters. Thanks for bearing with me!

Please **R n' R**, even if you don't think that you have much to say!

iolar abu


	10. Accidentally

Appa was getting tired of flying. And since none of his passengers were starting to wake up, he decided that the field over which they were flying would be the perfect place to rest. He landed softly; making sure that none of his passengers had been awoken. Humans were so fragile…He felt the little green girl shift and wished, not for the first time that he could tell someone about the hidden sadness wafting over from her. It wasn't normal. At least the airbender should have been able to do something about it… After all, the blue girl was made to be with the red boy, he knew enough about scents to be able to tell at least that much. What he didn't understand was why the yellow friend's smell became happy as soon as he was in close range of the nice blue girl. It didn't make sense. Didn't he get that she wasn't his to have? She was in his life as his life-maker (mother) not as his life-mate (obvious signification). The blue girl seemed conscious of that. So, logically, the yellow friend had to help the sad green girl. It made perfect sense to his bison-mind.

He laid his large head on is paws. It was time for a well-deserved nape. And too bad for the humans if they fell off the saddle. After all, a bison couldn't be held responsible for his friend's blunders. The jolt shook his passengers, but as far as he could tell, they all still slept soundly. And, as a kind of bonus, the blue girl was now pressed to the red boy, from what he could smell, and feel through the saddle. All was looking up.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0 Moving on to Sokka 0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Sokka slowly opened his eyes, utterly confused. Where was he already? It took him a few seconds before he realised where he was and how he had ended up there. He slowly stood up, feeling all the aches that he had accumulated over his stay in Zhao's ship. His muscles groaned in protest. After so little use, they had been drastically weakened. _'Good thing that my mind is still as strong as before, hunh?'_ He stretched his arms and legs as he stood there. The feeling of dread that had been growing ever since Yue had mentioned that Suki needed him just kept on growing. She needed help, and she was somewhere close enough for him to feel the pull of her soul on his. And the strength of that pull kept on growing.

He took a deep breath and started walking down the dirt road. After a few minutes, he felt his stomach rumble. It felt good to be able to feel hungry…but he needed FOOD! Looking in front of him, he finally noticed a signpost a few meters ahead. That had to mean that he was getting closer to…somewhere. There were the usual wanted posters for the Blue Spirit, the Avatar, Jeong-Jeong and a few others. He finally caught sight of a name: Myreiku, 5 days of walking (North). Just underneath it, one could read Kusenat, 1.5 days of walking (East). Sokka groaned. Why did Earth Kingdom villages have to be spaced so far apart? Readjusting his shirt, he sighed and started trudging towards the town of Kusenat.

Every few minutes, the grumbling of his stomach would interrupt his thoughts. If it had been anyone or anything else than saving Suki, he would have given up to look for food, but she was too important for that. And she needed his help. He kept on walking, step after step, breathing in, breathing out.

A sudden movement on his left made him reach for the place on his back where his boomerang used to hang, by reflex more than anything else. He smacked himself in the forehead when he realised that it wasn't there anymore. The mole-rabbit that had caused the disturbance rushed across the road into the bushes on the other side. Sokka sighed. Dinner had come straight to him, and he couldn't even catch it. _'Who would have thought that I would regret those strange nuts that Momo used to bring back…' _He walked on, glancing up from time to time at the stars. They were so beautiful… It made no sense that something so beautiful could exist in a world torn apart by war and cruelty, yet still they shone, beacons of hope in a time of lost souls.

Night had fallen: it was time to stop if he didn't want to lose himself while walking through the dark forest. Going to the side of the dirt road, he lay down and tried to put his mind to sleep. But the thought of all the time he was losing, and all the distance he had yet to cover kept tormenting him. He tossed and turned for so long that he was almost screaming with frustration when sleep finally took hold of him.

When the sun rose, Sokka awoke almost immediately. He pulled his shirt on, looked around half-heartedly for berries to eat, and finding none, got to his feet. He would have to eat later. After he had found Suki. Later. He stood in one spot for a second, waiting for the world around him to stop spinning. He felt weak at the knees and stumbled for a few steps before he found a constant rhythm and walked on.

The sun was high in the sky before he found a stream to quench his thirst. Landing awkwardly on his knees (ouch! A rock…) He started to gulp down water as quickly as possible. His breaths slowed and he rested back on his heels, tension gradually falling from his over-tight shoulders. He stood up again, partly replenished, and continued on his way. When the sun had started to set, he finally reached the village he had been yearning towards. He entered, judging the atmosphere.

All of the houses had lit windows. Kusenat wasn't big, but not small either. It was extremely clean, compared to most villages he had crossed through (or over) in his immeasurable experience of the world. However, he still couldn't see more than three feet in front of him. Suki was nowhere to be seen. He sighed, as his stomach growled. It was then that he realised just how hungry he was. The world around him was spinning again. He stumbled for a few feet before his knees gave way. He crawled a few more meters before he finally collapsed on the dry dirt. The fly-crickets continued singing their sweet song, oblivious to the troubles of the humans who surrounded them.

0o0o0o0o0 Time has passed 0o0o0o0o0

He opened his eyes. And blinked. _'Where __am__ I?' _He could see whitewashed walls all around him, light streaming in through a large window. The sun shone brightly. Sokka nearly bounded out of his bed, surprising even himself. _'Since when am I so eager to wake up?'_ He pinched himself on the arm once, to see if he was dreaming.

An elderly man was just starting to arrange his precious new shipment of beautiful lush and green cabbages when… "OUCH!" A resounding yell made him jump, accidentally hitting the bottom row of cabbages. The whole cart shook. It seemed to regain its balance, just when it was on the edge of falling. Cabbage Man let out a sigh. That quickly turned into a moan of despair as the whole thing fell onto the ground. A young man dressed in torn blue clothes rushed by. His eyes were wide as the young man disappeared around the corner of a house. That had been… No! The Avatar and his friends were here too. It just wasn't fair! "My poor, poor cabbages…Why?!? Why do they always have to be the ones to suffer?"

Sokka had screamed as he pinched his arm. But La, that had hurt! _'Note to self: stop pinching myself so hard. It __bloody__ hurts!' _He shook his head at his own stupidity and exited the bedroom in which he had recuperated his lost hours of sleep. As he entered the main room of the housed, he same face to face with a man who looked no older than Hakoda. He stopped at a dead halt, skidding straight into the table beside the older man. Once he steadied himself, he took a few steps back and peered curiously at his impromptu host. "Er… Good morning, Sir!"

The man stared at him for a few seconds then burst out laughing. "Hello, young man! Did you have a nice sleep? Of course you did! Why wouldn't you have? Are you hungry? Definitively. Boys your age always are. Come, come, we mustn't dilly-dally. What's your name? I'm Aishon. Do you like pan cakes? Of course you do! Everyone does! Now sit down and eat!"

Sokka just gaped at him. That man had just out-talked him! It was, by all means, theoretically impossible! It didn't make any sense. He felt himself being towed to a chair, then made to sit. He was going to ask the man if he had seen a girl of Suki's description when all thought of her flew out of his head as a plate of delicious pan cakes was put in front of his face. Reaching for the utensils, he dug in with guests, entirely consecrating himself to the task of eating the wondrously tasty pan cakes.

Having finished wolfing them down, he rushed towards his host. "Have you seen a girl about my age with t-"

"She was brought to the prison earlier. You might want to check the third cell on the left in the second hallway. And you could always use the back door to get out… It's at the end of that hallway…and if you're really lucky, you should find a copy of the keys in the sugar pot in the entry. Or they could always be hanging on a hook somewhere in the same hallway as the cell."

Sokka grinned. The man was helping him. And he was going to make the best of that help. He bowed to his host, then rushed out of the door, sprinting as fast as he could. He just didn't have the strength to lose someone else, someone that close to him.

On his way around a corner, he rushed past a cart of cabbages that looked like it was just about to fall. Turning another corner, he heard a crash that told him of the outcome. He chuckled lightly: that man would never manage to keep his cabbages safe from them… Becoming serious again, he continued to run towards the prison, every fibre of his being intent on saving one of the only people in the world that he still trusted completely.

0o0o0o0o0o0 Azula and Tomaku 0o0o0o0o0o0

Azula and Tomaku had been walking for about two days when the fateful accident happened. The day had started out quite normally, like any other time in their travels together. The traveling players had, strangely enough in Azula's opinion, elected to travel with them for a few more days. The logical part of her kept on telling her that there was something that they wanted from her, that there had to be a darker reason for how friendly they were being.

As much as it was against her upbringing, she tried to spend her time forcing herself to believe that they were well-meaning. But it was taking all of her concentration. That was why she had failed to notice all the whispering that took place behind her back, at days length. It also rendered her unable to make sure that Tomaku wasn't conniving behind her back to either betray her or give her up to the army.

She had started to pour all of her energy into her _chi_-protection training. She had managed to keep up a shield for a grand total of three minutes. After that, she would invariably collapse, completely exhausted. One thing she couldn't deny was that Tomaku, for all his grumbling about how she was too slow at learning this – those words had earned him a light slap on the top of the head – was amazingly talented teacher. And seemed to have an almost never ending store of good humour and patience. It angered her that he was able to stay so calm and serene when she was almost exploding from anger and frustration at her incapacity to control herself. It just wasn't fair! How could Tomaku have learned to control his _chi_ so well and so quickly when she was struggling with even the simplest exercises.

The fury was slowly growing inside of her. Unable to admit to herself that she wasn't able to better everyone else in this, unable to simply say that Tomaku was better than her. This feeling had slowly pushed her towards experimenting somewhat foolishly with amounts of _chi_ that she could use. She had seen some things that Tomaku could do that seemed to use _chi_ instead of bending. But for most, it was only a guess. The fact that she hadn't talked to Tomaku about it yet made her angrier against herself. He hadn't thought that she was good enough to learn those kind of advanced things, did he? She was already so close to snapping because of the constant fight between what she had believed in her whole life, and what she was slowly starting to discover about herself… Tomaku's annoying lack of trust was just something else pointing towards an explosion. The fact that she was actually starting to care about what he thought of her was what bothered her the most.

That day, she had woken up early to go check out a theory that she had been developing. Ever since her early years, she had been instructed on how bending had started and how it worked. The main story was that the power of your _chi_ determined how powerful your bending would be. She was supposing that the opposite was also true: strong bending meant strong _chi_ flow. And _chi_ was part of all humans. The only thing that determined what kind of bender you were was the middle in which you were born. In her case, that had been the Fire Nation capital. She had never, **ever** thought of controlling water, earth or air as a child. Everyone she saw around her controlled the wildness of fire, it followed reason that she should do the same. She had figured that that was why she had become a firebender. And she was almost sure that that "choice" made as a child was permanent, lasting a whole lifetime.

She was conscious of that now, and she was planning on that to help her. Her _chi_ had always been directed towards getting more and more control over fire and lightening. Never had she thought that she could push the limits of her soul towards other sorts of bending. Yet that was just what she was about to try. She crept silently out of the camp, making sure that no one else had awoken. If her theory worked out, she could rival the Avatar in strength. When he was in the Avatar State, of course. When he had the knowledge of thousands of Avatars before him fuelling his bending. Once she thought she was far enough from the camp to avoid being heard, she started to walk at a faster pace, disregarding all forms of caution.

She was making her way to the stream that she had noticed as they were starting to set up camp. Once she heard the slow trickle of water, she started to run. The source of water was getting closer and closer. She could almost feel the pull of the water on her soul. It was a strange experience, as she had never felt the attraction of any other element. She had never **WANTED** to feel any other kind of elemental pull. But ever since that day in the water with Tomaku, her whole outlook had shifted ever so slightly.

The morning sunlight reflected on the water: it looked so peaceful. Azula shook her head. _'I'm thinking about…water? What's wrong with me? Next I'll be sighing over men and becoming a monk whose life goal is to spread peace and love in the world! Tomaku is…He can't! He just cannot be changing me that much!'_ Her outrage had started to make her shake. It was crazy…she had lost most of her self-control from the shocks she had received. First, losing Ty Lee and Mai, then meeting Tomaku with his strange powers, and finally having the frustration of being beaten up systematically by but a boy who should have been serving her with no questions asked.

She sat down at the edge of the water and closed her eyes. She had figured that the only way that she was going to do this was through meditation. As hard as it was, she managed to calm herself enough that she started to feel the warm rays of the sun on her face. A small voice in her head kept nagging her, but she tried to push it as far back as possible. After all, she wasn't a child anymore! So she certainly didn't need her conscience to repeat over and over again: "You're going to get caught, you shouldn't be doing this… Tomaku'll catch you! This isn't allowed. Tomaku will catch you." She groaned. That voice was just so annoying…

She took a deep breath and visualised her inner pool of molten liquid _chi_. She could just make out the small rivers of _chi _flowing into her centre. All of it was coloured in various shades of red, orange and yellow. Now, to try out her theory. She waited for a few seconds, just to be completely sure that she was ready to complete her experience._ 'I am ready.'_ Slowly, she reached with her right hand and dipped it into the water. She could feel the current lightly brushing against it. For the first time, she considered water as something else than an enemy.

Refreshing and fluid. Strong and always flowing. In a way, so similar to fire, yet so different. She started to transfer that same fluidity to the rivers of _chi_ coursing through her body. She was starting to feel relaxed. More relaxed that she had ever been. Finally, one of the rivers made its way to her pool of molten _chi_, in her centre. She hissed as the initial shock. Her eyes flew open. And to her surprise and wonder, a small glove of water had encased her lily-white hand. It felt…indescriptable.

Her _chi_ was still flowing strongly into the pool that was the very heart of her soul. The pull of water intensified as she gained more confidence. She was actually _bending_ water. The pool of fire in her soul was almost completely transformed. With each passing second, the power of her waterbending grew. She smiled. This was working better than she could have ever imagined. There was only one drop of fire left unchanged. As it was being utterly reprogrammed, something inside her shifted. The little drop of fire was rebelling, refusing to change.

Suddenly, she was ablaze in pain. Every single _chi _point in her body had suddenly exploded. Fire was rushing through her, blocking and burning everything in its path. She was on her knees, clutching her head with both hands. Agni, it hurt! She didn't even realize that she was shaking. And then, as quickly as it had all started, the fire stopped. All that was left was the searing pain that one felt when one burnt oneself. Even that was fading incredibly quickly.

She sat there, curled up, for a seemingly endless period of time. Her shaking slowly subsided. She realised, after a while, that she couldn't sense **any** _chi_ going through her body. None at all. Even the pool in her centre had vanished without a trace, as if it had never been there. _'But that doesn't make sense! Every living body has chi, no matter how little! … Does that mean that…that I'm dead?' _

She gradually uncurled herself, not wanting to admit that it was a definitive possibility. Shaking, she tried to stand up. Her knees buckled as soon as she put her weight on them. Regardless, she tried again, only to come up with the same result. Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm the rising panic inside her mind. _'I'm going to be okay. Everything…everything will be okay.'_ She could almost feel her inner-self shaking with fear and with doubt. But, like on any other day, she completely ignored it.

She managed to "stand" up on four limbs, still teetering and tottering from side to side. _'Now, if I can only make it back to the camp before anyone notices that I'm gone… Fat chance that they will, but still, I can't afford to appear this weak in front of anyone. I sure hope that I'll be able to stand up by the time I reach the camp…'_ She started to crawl back through the path that she had made that morning. That time already seemed so far away… When she stopped for one of her many rests, something splattered on her arm. Taking a close look, she realized that it was blood.

She lifted a hand to her forehead, and was sincerely surprised when it came back covered in blood. She examined herself more carefully. And finally took notice of the fact that she was completely covered in small cuts and scratches. She blinked twice. When had _those_ appeared? The strangest thing was that she couldn't even feel them. And she hadn't noticed them before. When she was supposed to be completely and entirely alert at all times. Getting back into her crawling position, she started to move again. The worst part was that she was getting extremely hungry, not having eaten breakfast, and thirsty. Her knees were bloody from all of the sharp rocks. And most importantly, she was exhausted. Having lost almost all sense of direction and distance, she had no idea as to how far she had to go to reach her safe haven…

It was then that it hit her. The fact that it had taken her so long to deduct it was only proof as to how tired she was. If she was bleeding and sore, that meant that she was alive. A feeling of warmth was coursing through her used body. She was alive. And hat meant that she truly had to finish crawling all the way to the camp. Newly invigorated, she started to progress again, at a respectable pace. However, it didn't take long for her tiredness to catch up. She was bone-weary, as worn out as an old woman near the end of her age-long life.

She sat down heavily. Instinctively, her eyes went to the sky. Sunset. She had spent the whole day away. Hopefully that she wasn't important enough to be missed… Once, such a thought would have sent her into a dark rage. But now, it merely made her smile slightly. A thought hit her. Soon, the sun would set, and she wouldn't be able to see the path anymore. She would get even more lost if she continued. Normally, a flame was the obvious way to keep on going, but Azula wasn't sure what her previous experiment had done to her bending, and didn't want to risk setting the whole forest on fire when she was too tired to run away from the flames.

Azula started to move with a new desperation. The thought of the night in the forest without her bending or _chi_ shield scared her more than she wanted to admit. Her arms kept on faltering, but each time she got up again, forcing her unwilling body to go on. After a while, she realised that the ground was slowly tilting up. Searching her memories, she remembered a hill just a few minutes away from the camp. It had taken a couple of seconds for her to assimilate the thought that if it had been a downhill on the way there, it would be an uphill on the way back. She reached the top, and tumbled down the other side. Dark, velvety sleep had taken its hold on her.

Azula's exhausted body tumbled down the slight slope on the other side of the hill. She was too tired to feel even the slightest bump. After a few seconds, she stopped rolling, and turned to a dead stop. All around her was quiet as the soft blanket of darkness slowly took its place on the sleeping princess.

0o0o0o0o0o0 Flashback Tomaku's P.O.V. 0o0o0o0o0o0

Tomaku had woken up as Azula had crept out of the camp. He had hesitated before deciding that she could use some time alone to mull over the enormity of their plan, and all that it entailed. And what she would be required to do to accomplish her part in said plan. He sighed. Even if he was getting through to the darker side of her, he was still worried about her. Worried about a girl that he had only really known for a bit over two weeks. Yet he wanted to save her…He wanted to succeed so badly.

He ate a quick breakfast then looked around to see if Chong, was awake yet. The latter was sitting at the edge of the clearing, seemingly staring into empty space. But as soon as Tomaku took a step towards him, he jumped onto his feet. "You need to come with me. There are…things that we need to talk about. Now. Not here. With no delay. Now follow. If you want to know something, of course."

With those words, he stepped away and turned to make his way into the deep forest. Tomaku hesitated for less than a second before he followed the middle-aged man. Knowledge, in this world, was worth more than bending. They walked for a nearly unending amount of time, Chong leading and Tomaku following. They ended up in a clearing, leading right to the side of the river. And, to his surprise, Tomaku could see Azula sitting at the edge of the water. He made as if to take a step towards her, but Chong stopped him. And dragged him as quickly and as silently as possible towards the nearest bush.

"I am here to prove to you that you do – Hey! What a pretty butterfly! Anyways, you care about what happens to this girl. And I'm going to prove it to you! And then we'll dance and we'll prance all the way through! We'll just watch her for as long as we have to. And while we're watching, I'll braid your hair! Now be quiet."

Tomaku had tried to back away. But Chong was too fast and had grabbed his hair and started to braid it. He added flowers and all. Tomaku just ended giving up. After all, what would it hurt to have some decoration in his hair? _'As long as Azula doesn't see it… I have a feeling that it would give her ammunition to blackmail me…'_ After a while, Tomaku started to see her _chi_ flow grow in intensity. Something was happening. It was then that he saw it: water crawling up her arm. His eyes widened as he realized what she was trying to do. A cry tore him away from his frantic thoughts. Azula was crouched on the ground, and was shaking badly.

He slowly took in just how powerfully he felt for the for the little girl. And how much he cared about what could and might happen to her. It was taking all of his willpower to not go out and hug her. And say that he would heal her. Chong had grabbed his shoulders to stop him from rushing out. Tomaku didn't understand. It was obvious that Zula needed help… Why couldn't he go and heal her? Then, slowly, ever so slowly, she started to crawl away from the river.

Tomaku had stopped fighting and was now staring wide-eyed at the worn girl. It was a miracle that she was still moving at all. She had tried to change her core, but she still had enough energy to move on her own. It was an extremely painful experience, as he had already found out when he had first learned _chi_ control. Chong signalled to him that they were going to follow her from a certain distance. Tomaku glared at him, but did it anyways. He was actually surprised at his own want to help her. _'I guess that it's a way for my conscience to make up for that day –'_ He shook himself. _'Don't think about that day, it's ancient history now. Ancient history.'_

They advanced at a snail's pace, matching Azula inch per agonizing inch, remaining at an invariable distance behind her. As the day progressed, the girl started to falter more and more often, until the night had almost fallen. The hill just before the camp had just come into sight. Azula, surprisingly enough, picked up the pace. Tomaku followed suit, refusing to let her out of hi sight. When she reached the top, he saw her teeter and fall. She then disappeared. Regardless of the man beside him, Tomaku ran up the hill.

When he finally reached the top, he saw that her body had rolled down and was just lying there, unmoving. He was ready to start to sprint towards the still body when Chong grabbed his arm. "Do you believe me now?" Tomaku looked at him, confused. Chong sighed and spoke again. "Don't you like your braids? Even if they _did_ fall a bit short…and have you finally realised that you care more for her than a soldier has for his charge?" The younger man barely nodded. He had understood that a while ago, but it was not to this man that he wanted to admit _that_. Chong smiled and let go of Tomaku's shoulder. "Go bring her back to the camp. I'll accompany you.

Tomaku sprinted down the hill, followed by Chong, who was walking in a posed fashion. _'Youngsters theses days… Always in such a hurry. Can't really blame them, though. In these dangerous times, one never knows what the next day will bring… Joy or pain, suffering or ecstasy, love or hate.'_

By this time, Tomaku had reached Azula. Almost tenderly, he turned her over, brushing her hair out of her face. _'She's…asleep!'_ He smiled, unconsciously softening his expression. He picked the slumbering girl up in his arms, and followed by a silent Chong, he made his way across the few hundred meters that separated him from an uncomfortable, but most desired bed, made out of a blanket and whatever he could find on the ground to make his sleep more comfortable.

He entered the clearing to see a fire burning joyously in the middle. The Nomads were clustered around it, singing softly. They had a kind of togetherness that shone brighter than the fire they sat before. Tomaku couldn't help but smile. The whole thing made an adorable portrait. Suddenly, it made him feel like an outsider. Him, and the girl in his arms. The Nomads weren't dabbling in stories of treason and Armageddon… _'The two of us aren't really even worthy to be here: we're ruining their peaceful selves. This isn't fair to them… They don't need to be tainted by our lives of violence and anger.'_

Unknowingly, he had taken a step back, as if to separate himself from the merry group sitting around the crackling flames. Chong got up promptly and dragged Tomaku and Azula's blanket towards the ring of merry Nomads. Smiling mysteriously, as if he knew exactly what was going through Tomaku's head, he dropped Tomaku's blanket on the ground then sat down a few feet away, completing the circle. Tomaku chuckled lightly. _'These Nomads know a lot more than they let on…' _He spread out his blankets on the ground and gently laid the sleeping princess on them. _'She looks so peaceful when she sleeps…All the anger, all the plotting, all the confusion disappears. It's like it's the only time that she can not worry. She lets all of her defences down. She looks almost … innocent. As if she is recuperating her childhood through her sleep and dreams. If only she could allow herself to be like this, even for a few minutes, when she's awake…'_

It was then that he realised that he had been staring at without really seeing her for some time. His cheeks reddened slightly. And he immediately busied himself with her cover, draping it over her sleeping form. Once he was finished, he noticed that Chong was still staring insistently at him. He could detect a certain smugness in the elder man's expression. And was that pride shining through? Tomaku bowed his head slightly in thanks, then lay down on the ground, slowly immersing himself in the wonderful world of dreams. Unknowingly, his _chi_ reached out to the younger girl and started to heal her.

* * *

I know, this chapter was waaaaaaaaay over-due. And I don't use that term lightly. Yet I can console myself by saying that I am finally out of crisis mode, and having time to write!! An enormously huge hug to anyone who bothered to read this through without killing me!!! hugs

Not much of the Gaang in this one, but believe me, the Zutaraness is nice and fluffy in the next chapter!! XD

Iolar-chan (who is presently begging your forgiveness)


	11. The Pai Sho Board

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0 Change POV - - Chong 0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

He had watched as the boy nodded off to sleep. He was so young…yet so troubled. As was the girl who slept silently beside him. It was strange how many things changed. A while ago, he would have been her sworn enemy. But now, they shared a campfire. Yes, it was a strange, strange world. Though not half as strange as something he could feel transpiring leagues away. Who would have ever thought a firebender and a waterbender would be able to… A cracking interrupted his thoughts. His wife, Lily, had come to sit beside him. The rest of the traveling players that they had met since their meeting with the Avatar watched on, wondering and thinking.

Life was strange, sometimes, but sometimes it was those very strange-ities that made you happy to be alive. Like when he had first met Lily. Oh, what a story that had been! He felt a wave of happiness roll over him. It was definitively a privilege to be able to stay with a person who was the shade of his heart… Turning his head to the flames, he buried himself in what he could somehow _feel_ happening so far away. A troubled boy, a girl who was weeping on the inside, both of them slowly falling into obscurity. The only thing holding them back, keeping them alive, was each other. But they didn't know that yet. He almost wanted to scream at them. How they could miss something that obvious was beyond him.

He had been able to see their stories, from the first interaction to the few tender moments between the two. It was an ability that had had never questioned. Even before he had physically met the Avatar, he had been catching glimpses of the two teenagers. He had eventually learned their names, along with snatches of their pasts. The more he saw, the more he agreed with the fact that they were made to fit together, completing opposites. It had taken him a while to figure out what his own role was to be. At first glance, there wasn't anything special about him: Chong knew well that his only talents were storytelling and music. Storytelling…He was meant to see the tale of the two lovers repeat itself. And to tell it in song. The world needed to be reunited by some power, and he had been given the tools to do it. Like in the time of Oma and Shu, love was the power that could reunite them all. It could unify all of the peoples of the world, no matter what differences they had. Chong had watched events unfold before his eyes, aware that what he was witnessing would definitively change the world.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0 Back to the Gaang 0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Toph jerked into a sitting position, covered in a thin sheen of sweat. It had happened again… She felt around quickly. From what she could tell, the rest of the Gaang was still fast asleep. She sighed in relief, trying to stop her whole body from shaking. _'Why me?'_ Her mind started to flash back to what she had seen, but she started to scold herself. It was useless to think of it. After all, it was just a vision of the future. Nothing that she wouldn't be able to change.

A hand descended on her shoulder so abruptly that she couldn't stop a small cry from escaping her mouth. _'How didn't I sense him?!? Aang was standing right behind me and I didn't even notice it!' _She whirled around to face him, seriously pissed. "How-"

"What did you see, Toph? Tell me. What did you see in your vision?" Toph was actually surprised. It was one of the first times that she had seen Twinkle-Toes angry. And it still was a shock, to see that one as calm and childish as him become almost…frightening. But that still didn't explain how he had known that she had been having a vision. Even if she had been talking in her sleep, it could have been easily mistaken for a nightmare. She _had_ to know. She promptly asked the airbender just how he had thought that she had been having something as ridiculous as a vision.

It was as if someone had painted scorn all over his face. He seemed to consider not answering her, but he seemed to deign to give her a response. Well, as much as a response as he could give. "Avatar business. Can't tell you about it. Now, tell me!"

Toph glared at him. _'How dare he…and then he asks for information as if it was the most natural thing in the world.'_ But something in his stance made her, the best earthbender alive, and stubborn at that, hesitate. He was, as much as she completely refused to admit it, starting to scare her deep, deep down. She took a deep breath, then stared in the direction of the airbender's vibrations. "I didn't 'see' anything. And if you get out of my way, I was going to go back to sleep. Quit bugging me, Twinkle-Toes. Just stop."

She spun around, grabbing her blanket as she collapsed her rock tent. It was too late to still be awake if she wanted to be her sharp and sarcastic self in the morning. The image of blood flashed in front of her eyes. She shivered slightly, completely against her will. _'Why do these visions keep on coming? I don't want anything else to do with them!'_ She tried to creep away, monitoring Aang's vibrations to make sure that he didn't follow her. But suddenly, he wasn't there anymore. She couldn't "see" him anywhere. And couldn't hear any noise. _'How can he be so quiet? He never has been before! And I didn't know he could stay in the air for that long without his glider…'_

She gasped as hands grasped her shoulders. And then felt a hand cover her mouth. She inhaled sharply. And suddenly felt a whisper brush her ear. A dead, cold-icy voice, completely unlike Aang's usual joyous demeanour, invaded her thoughts, brushing everything else from her mind.

"Don't you dare scream, Toph. Just answer my question. Will you stay quiet?" Toph nodded slowly. She knew that if she clobbered him on the head, she had no way of knowing how he would react. Of course, the normal Aang, light hearted and joyous, would have laughed a bit (once he regained consciousness) but with this hard Aang, she wasn't sure if he would kill her, or just seriously hurt her. She knew that her bending was strong, the strongest earthbending in the world. But she was sure that, in this case, it wouldn't be close to good enough to protect her from the Avatar's wrath.

Aang took his had off her mouth, but kept a firm grip on her forearm. He was barely a half a foot away from her. And she finally took notice of something. Aang was taller than her. She could feel it from the way, and direction from which his voice was coming. She glared with blind eyes at the general are where she imagined his face to be. She knew that he wasn't going to back down…but neither was she. "Why would I tell you? Even if I _had_ seen something, it would be none of your business, Mr Twinkle Bloody Toes! Let me go right now. You'll regret it if you don't. Badly."

She felt the grip on her forearm grow tighter. And "saw" Aang take a half a step closer. She tried to pull away. Then brought the biggest stone she could reach from her position out of the ground. She didn't care whether he tried to stop her or not, she was going to crush him. She brought it down as hard as she could. Like always, she was right on her target. But then, something incredible happened. The boulder stopped in mid-air. And no matter how much she put it into forcing it down, it wouldn't budge. No one was supposed to be able to better her… Yet something in her head kept on saying stubbornly _'I am the best earthbender alive! I can't allow something like this to happen.'_

Aang had hardly thought when he had pushed the rock out of its path. It had been so easy, so automatic that it had taken a while for him to realize what he had done. He stared into the darkness, trying to make out the girl to whose arm he didn't care to let go of. She just didn't understand He had heard her muttering in her sleep. And when he had understood what she was talking so softly about, he had waited for her to wake up. He knew that the only way to defeat Ozai was to meld his soul like a blade, making it determined and unforgiving. It had taken a while for him to come to terms to it, but he knew that he had no other choice.

That was why her had to get her to tell him what horrible things she had seen in her vision. It would help him to forge himself, to strengthen his resolve. He hadn't realized how cold he had become on the outside, in a matter of seconds. He couldn't see how flat and empty his eyes had become. He couldn't hear how dangerous and emotionless his own voice sounded. He was pure determination, letting nothing as petty as the best earthbender's anger deter him. He simply didn't have the time.

Toph had blindly gaped as she felt the rock on which she had been exercising all the pressure she could slip upward, pushing and destroying her control on it in less than a matter of seconds. Pushing her aside as if she was nothing more than a flea. She had reacted instinctively, and now regretted it with everything she had. She had just been shown how great the Avatar power could be, even when the Avatar in question wasn't **in** the Avatar State. However, being the stubborn girl that she was, she refused to answer. Clamping her mouth shut, she simply sat down on a rock and sand bed that she had raised for herself.

Deep breath. "Go away now. I don't have time for this." She was proud to say that her voice didn't even waver.

"Not until you tell me what you saw," retaliated the young Avatar. "Tell me now."

An invisible conflict was taking place. Their spirits and souls were grappling, attempting to bring down the other. They were so concentrated on not losing that neither of them took notice of the arrival of a certain ex-Fire Nation heir. He stared at them, not understanding what was going on. He ended up roughly shoving them apart. They had been inching towards each other, with aggressive expressions on their faces, ready to start a real fight.

"STOP! You childish, moronic, fucked up IDIOTS! What are you doing, trying to kill each other?!? Wrong person. You're both supposed to be aimed at destroying Ozai, not each other. Now, **stop**."

They had both jumped at his appearance. They had been completely oblivious to the world around them. And when Zuko had pushed them apart, Toph had fallen, and Aang had almost fallen as well. However, he had turned around as soon as he had recovered his balance. Toph enclosed herself in a rock tent, not even bothering to get up. Zuko was left standing there, wondering what the hell had happened to him. He stared up at the sky, and asked out loud "What is wrong with **them**?"

He slowly walked back to his sleeping place, lost in thought. Something had seemed wrong, somehow, about what he had seen. But he couldn't place it. As he passed the waterbender, a smile discreetly took over his features. His whole face softened, albeit unconsciously. He then noticed that she was curled up as tightly as possible and that she was shivering. He lit a small flame, looking around to make sure that no one could see him.

He dashed to where Katara's blanket hand landed and picked it up. Looking furtively to all sides, he quickly tucked it around the sleeping girl. She slowly uncurled, and smiled in her sleep. Zuko slipped away, too tired to remain for much longer. He quickly fell asleep after lying down.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o Back to Azula and Tomaku 0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Once everyone in the camp had woken up, they started to make their way to the village (the first one they would see since they had left the ship) of Kusenat. Azula still felt incredibly weak, tired and sore, on top of a pounding headache, but had used the years of discipline that she had been subjected to to tear herself out of bed, and to look somewhat awakened.

The pain from the night before had returned , and was on the edge of eating her up. If she made any sudden movements, it quadrupled. While everyone else had been eating, she had gotten up slowly and trudged towards the fire. She noticed that she had been trying to grasp her _chi_ when she suddenly felt empty. Her _chi_ was still absent. Her heart sank a little, even though she had been expecting that hole in her soul. Her nearly audible sigh filled the air around her.

She sat down gingerly, trying to appear as natural as normal. _'I hope none of them noticed I was gone yesterday… They should not have seen it… Since I'm __ever__ so important here.'_ She glanced around, but saw only people with their heads buried in their soup. The world seemed a bit less alive without her bending. She took a sip of her soup. Like expected, it was a lot too hot. After a few minutes, she concluded that no one had remarked her late appearance. She shook her head slightly. _'I guess that I really am that unimportant…Who knew it was possible to fall this far this quickly?"_

She buried herself with eating her over-heated soup. And missed the compassionate look that Tomaku gave her. He had seen the sad look in her eyes when she had sat down and no one had commented on her absence. She was slowly getting easier for him to read. It wasn't really that she was more open. Tomaku just had a knack with people. It had saved his life more than once already.

By the time all of the breakfast material had been cleaned and picked up, and that they had packed the rest of their things (mostly their blankets which got tied to their backs), it was mid-morning. Azula was ablaze in pain. She had figured out that the sun merely helped the pain propagate itself. She could hardly stand up. And at every few steps she took, she stumbled, increasing the pain at her _chi_ points.

She just bit down harder on her cheeks, drawing blood. At least it distracted her for a few seconds. She groaned internally. She knew that she wouldn't be able to walk much further, but she still refused to give up. Azula winced as a branch brushed her arm. "Ouch…" she muttered under her breath. And trudged on.

Amazingly enough, she made it until the lunch break. She sat down, but halfway through the motion, her knees collapsed. In a heartbeat, Tomaku was beside her. He gently laid her down. _'Why doesn't his touch hurt me? It doesn't make any sense…'_ She suddenly felt a cool wave roll over her body. It took her a few seconds to understand that it was Tomaku's _chi_ that was pouring over her vulnerable body.

She looked up to see him smiling softly at her. "Don't worry, Princess. You'll be okay. Relax. We'll keep on going, but I'll carry you. As for your _chi_ and your bending, you'll get them back in about a week. I've already made the same mistake you did. And see, I'm no worse for wear. Come here."

With those words, he handed her her share of the lunch they had packed. They all ate quickly. Then, Tomaku turned towards her. His _chi_ was still soothing the pain. He hoisted her upon his back, then told her to hold on. They were on their way.

Azula felt a bit feverish. She kept on zoning in and out of consciousness. The only reason she didn't completely give in was that she didn't want to be dropped. She had always done most things by herself, but trusting someone just "because" was way too much a strange notion. She had "trusted", if it could be called trust, her associates because they were terrified of her: they would do what she said as long as no other, bigger, stronger bully came along.

It didn't make any sense to her: she trusted this young man entirely yet he had sworn an oath with more loopholes than cheddar cheese, he was absolutely not scared of her, and he could over-power her in more than half of her domains of "excellence". _And_ in physical strength. Logically, he was able to squash her like an insect. Yet she found herself on his back (an easy position from which to kill him) with him supporting the entire weigh of her pain wracked body. It was amazing how everything had changed so quickly.

After a while, she felt her body give in and her eyelids droop. In a matter of seconds, she was asleep. Tomaku noticed that her grip was slackening. He asked Chong to take her off his back. He then took hold of her with a fireman's hold (slung over his shoulder). They were almost at the town. There, they could rest. And recuperate. Azula shifted on his back. He smiled discreetly. She was extraordinarily determined… but even she had her limits. He swore to himself that when she woke up, he was going to give her a hug. After all, she had stood so much pain during her life that he figured that she needed at least an instant of relief.

They walked for about another half an hour before they reached the sign that they had been hoping to come across. "Kusenat: just a few more minutes." With renewed vigour, they marched on.

_Azula's Dream _

_She was being bumped around. She wasn't sure why, or by whom, but it was happening anyways. She finally managed to open her eyes. And saw Tomaku looming over her with a smirk on his face. She stared. What was with him? His face seemed to grow larger and larger by the second, until it filled in the whole sky above her. The smirk intensified. And suddenly, a voice like rumbling rocks spoke._

"_Little, little Zula." The immense face chuckled. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be returning to your official position as lapdog to your father?" Azula growled lightly. The face, looking a bit like Tomaku's, but in a more distorted way, just kept on laughing silently. "Be nice, little Zula. We wouldn't want me to have to do anything… unpleasant. Now, little Zula, I just happen to have a few things to say to you. You horrible little girl, you were stupid enough to block your bending __**and**__ your _chi_. Yes, little Zula, I saw how stupid you looked when you figured out what had happened to you. Don't look so surprised."_

_To her utter surprise, it felt as if giant hands were rearranging the way her features were set. But she had no way to fight it. For once in her life, she was completely powerless. The hands pushed her expression into neutralness. And, somehow, froze it that way. No matter how hard she tried to scowl, nothing happened. She rolled her eyes. ('At least I can still do __**that**__…') And then crossed her arms. A second later, they were being forcibly uncrossed. _

"_You just don't understand, do you? I can crush you like a bug, as much here as in the "real world". My _chi_ is infinitively stronger than yours. And with it, I can do whatever I want to do to you. Know and understand that, little Zula. All, and everything that that implies."_

_Azula just stood there, as frozen mentally as she was physically. Where had the nice, soft-spoken Tomaku that she had grown to depend on for a little stability gone? Was he really like this under everything? She looked up as quickly as she could, when she heard a popping noise._

_A large knife was coming down on her, with the cackling of the face as a background. She tried to move, to scream, to do anything at all to react… But it was useless. She couldn't do a thing. And the knife in question was coming down faster and faster towards her. In a last ditch effort, she tried to close her eyes. To her surprise, they moved._ _She had already known that she was going to die young. But by Tomaku's hand, never had she thought of that. Her eyes still shut as tightly as possible, she tensed for the impact, ready to face the pain. After a few seconds of agonizing silence, she opened her eyes. And screamed._

_Tomaku's immense and deformed face was floating in front of her, with wide-open white eyes. The mouth was twisted in an agonizing smirk. And down the middle, was an immense sword. The two parts of the head fell apart, revealing the oozy brain inside that was starting to seep out. Azula scrunched her nose in distaste. And fell to her knees. She realized that she was shaking. Looking up, she saw another sword speeding towards her, barely a couple of meters above her head. She closed her eyes again._

_A jolt went through her. She "saw" a flash of blue, immediately followed by a flash of red. Zuko and the water peasant's faces superposed themselves and suddenly, she saw them hugging. She gaped, keeping her eyes tightly shut. She then "saw" fire take everything over. Fire was consuming her whole soul. Then it all blew up. Pain exploded. _

_End of Azula's Dream _

When she opened her eyes and screamed, Tomaku almost dropped her. He had switched her into a bridal style carry because his grip kept on slipping on the girl, and he didn't want to drop her from his shoulder height. He was pretty sure that it would hurt her. Ever since her _chi_ accident, the day before, he had started to feel rather protective of her. He knew that she would hate it if she knew that… After all, she was a princess, and like she seemed to say very often, completely capable of taking care of herself.

He turned his attention back to the "little" girl in his arms. She was staring with eyes that didn't seem to be able to see him at all. His face immediately turned into a rather deep frown. He spoke to her quietly, seeing if he would get a reaction, but nothing. Suddenly, she twitched and tried to sit up, but almost fell out of Tomaku's arms.

It seemed like she finally could see him. Then after a couple of seconds of utter silence during which every single nomad was staring at them, Tomaku gently put Azula down. To his utter surprise, she gave him and extremely fierce hug, refusing to let go. Tomaku merely grinned at Chong and returned the hug, careful to not make it _too_ bone crushing. After a while, they got up, and started to walk again. It was just a bit after midday when the caught sight of the village of Kusenat. It felt like coming home after a long journey. Every person had a smile on his or her faces. Even the nomads who professed the love of the journey over the love of arriving at your destinatione. Even _Azula!_

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0 Back to the Gaang0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Pai Sho was more than just a game: Zuko's time with Iroh had taught him that much. It was a way of seeing the world, a way of thinking, a way of acting… In short, it was a way of life. And in this particular way of life, Katara and himself were dead even.

Evening after evening, they had been making a Pai Sho board, carving it out of wood. Katara had to continuously freeze it, while Zuko melded it with his punches of fire. It was a battle of wills just to keep the balance just right. For if they didn't, the whole board would fall apart. Just like the world around them… As for the tiles, as for the people in the world, each was unique, made more from half-forgotten memories than from actual examples.

It was on this fateful night that they had finally finished putting together the whole game, board and tiles. And, as much as both would refuse to admit it, they were incredibly proud of themselves. While they ate their supper, prior t the game, Katara had started to detect a slight coldness in between Toph and Aang. But it had all flown out of her head when Zuko had stood up and offered her a hand up. "Let's play."

She immediately took his hand, and let him pull her up. They then made their way to the small space where they had put their revered Pai Sho game board. Zuko stuck out his hand. "To a good match, waterbender." Katara rolled her eyes. After a couple of days in his company, she had decided that "waterbender" wasn't half as bad a name as what he had called her before. She also felt that it had now turned into more of a nickname than a way for him to distance himself from her.

Of course, this newfound closeness (if it could be called that) didn't stop their day-to-day arguments. However, they had taken on a more of a friendly tone, instead of an "I'm-trying-to-kill-you-and-completely-stump-you-at-the-same-time" tone. They were still rivals, but it was on more of a competitive level than anything else. Except when "the Prince", as Katara had named him, took over. Then Zuko became frightfully powerfully and vengeful. Much to Katara's despair, Zuko had continued with the "saviour" nonsense. That is, until she slapped him. A fight had ensued, from which they exited sporting a few more bruises and cuts to add to their growing collection.

They hadn't spoken for a while, until they both ended up gravitating towards the unfinished (well, at that time it had still been unfinished) Pai Sho board. They had started working on their separate corners, but had ended up reconciliating themselves because Katara thought it stupid to ruin such a nice board for such a petty fight. That was the first time that she had hugged Zuko.

It had been…unlike any hug that she had received before. Being a fire bender, his body temperature was a lot higher than hers. When he had put his arms around her, they had enclosed her completely. And for some reason, made her feel safe. His warmth felt like a soft blanket. Although, since he didn't have his armour on for once, she could feel that his body was anything but soft. He had also lightly rested his head on hers. After a few seconds, she had backed away, blushing. But everything had calmed down, at least slightly, between them from that moment on.

The inaugural match on the Pai Sho board was going quite well. Both sides were strategizing, trying to find a flaw in their opponent's game plan. Katara was ahead, but barely. They were still deadlocked. And the game could go either way. She had been surprised at the amount of skill she possessed at the game. Zuko had taught her how to play while they were building they board, with rocks and stones in lines drawn in the dirt. He had had an amazing amount of patience as a teacher. And Katara was amazed at the speed at which she had caught on.

After a while, the game turned to talk, finally deriving into a multitude of different topics, ranging from their food tastes to stories from their most early childhoods in their respective houses. They compared differences between the ways they had been taught to think, between the stories that they had been told. And found that there were some strange similarities.

After a while, they decided that it was getting too late to stay up playing Pai Sho. Katara stood up and nodded to the Fire Prince opposite her. To her surprise, he returned the nod while staring straight into her eyes. She blushed to the roots of her hair. Zuko smirked and moved to his cover.

Katara rushed to hers, and buried her head in them, completely horrified at how she had reacted. Zuko lay there, still slightly smiling. Her reaction had been slightly unexpected. Who would have thought that a small glance would unnerve Katara of the Water Tribe so much? She had been adorably cute when she had blushed…

**(A\N: This is another mind conversation between the different parts of Zuko.)**

'_What are you thinking, you little piece of scum? You are a fire __Prince__. Princes don't think that way about peasants. And Fire Nation citizens don't think that way about Water Tribe shit. Take care of your thoughts, you rotting worthless piece of crap.'_

Deep down, Zuko could feel something rebel against what Prince had said. Real Zuko was starting to stir up things in the bottom of his soul that he didn't necessarily want to be brought up, especially for Katara's eyes to see. Things that he had done under the influence of Prince, true, but he also knew that Prince was what could have happened to him had he not been banished out of the Fire Nation, and scarred forever by his own father. He knew, in a strange way, that it had saved him. His father had unwillingly helped him. It didn't make the Fire Lord any less hateable, but it had helped. Zuko understood that strangely enough, everything happened for a reason. It was thanks to that banishment that he had seen the world, and that he had met the waterbender.

It was strange, thought the Blue Spirit, how quickly he had stopped seeing her as an enemy. Strange how complimentary their natures were when everything, from their bending to their personalities, opposed them…

All of the other Zukos (A.N. : More than one Zuko… :drools: ) suddenly blushed of an accord. The one subject that all the parts of Zuko seemed to agree on was Katara. They agreed to basically never talk about her, since she confused all of the, even Blue Spirit, not one to be easily fazed.

Prince stepped forward. _"I refuse to let you go near her anymore Zuko. You are royalty, and she a mere peasant. She should be grovelling at your feet, not arguing with you. She is stepping out of her place as a peasant, and it is your job to keep her in that confined space. Not to let her out to confront you, and make you feel like you are obligated to answer her."_

Real Zuko and Blue Spirit immediately attacked him. And, for the first time since Zuko's mother had disappeared, they came out on top. That meant that the cracks in Zuko's soul were slowly becoming shallower. That Zuko was becoming more and more of the man that he could be, and less like the cold-hearted Prince that he had almost completely become. He still had doubts about what he was becoming, but they seemed to lessen with each passing day.

**(A.N. End of mind conversation.)**

In the waking world, Zuko had been tossing in his sleep. Tossing so violently, in fact, that he had woken his traveling companions. Toph had groaned, reinforced her "tent" walls, and gone back to sleep. Aang had flown off. And Katara had rolled her eyes. "Why is it ALWAYS me?" When no one answered, she made her way, reluctantly, over to Zuko.

She stood there for a few seconds, then bent down to shake him awake.

A flaming column rose into the air, illuminating the night sky. It was visible from kilometres away. And then, it disappeared into the night without a trace. Without a noise.

* * *

Hi guys!!!  
So this came out a bit later than I though that I'd get it out, but anyways, please tell me what you though about it. More good fluffy Zutara-ness in the next chappie! 3 (is hoping that she gets a snowday tomorrow)

Iolar-chan


	12. Stormy Night

Zuko was twitching violently on the ground before Katara reached him. She hesitated for about half a second, then put her hand on his shoulder and shook it slightly. Zuko went still. Katara, who had quickly withdrawn her hand, waited a few seconds then reached out again. Just before she touched him, his left hand shot up in the air. A column of fire errupted. Katara dropped to her knees.

The fire had completely illuminated the scene for a millionth of a second before everything plunged into darkness again. Zuko had suddenly sat up, eyes wide open. Katara was bent in two, still not looking up. When she finally lifted her head, she said "Well, I guess that you're awake now, Zuko." The latter smiled slightly when he heard it, but the worry didn't leave his face. Katara smiled.

"Uh, Zuko, what's wrong? You look like you swallowed an ostrich-horse down the wrong tube." She waited for Zuko to offer an explanation. When he didn't, she put her hand lightly on his forearm, weary of any huge fire columns. "Zuko, tell me. But please, spare me the experience of burning skin. It hurts. And brings back bad memories."

Zuko turned a blank face to her. She could barely distinguish his features in the darkness, but she could tell that they were strangely expressionless. He had just opened his mouth when Katara felt two small arms go around her from behind. She turned to see Aang staring at her. "Katara! You're okay! I was so worried that _he_ might have burned you on purpose!"

But Katara wasn't really listening to what he was saying. In truth, she was thinking about what Zuko had said and about what she had admitted. The proof was right in front of her. The way that he had been slow to release her, the way she could guess at his cheeks tinted in red, the way that he had looked at her when she had looked at him… It all said what she had feared. The young Avatar had strong feelings for her. But she knew that deep down, she didn't return those same feelings.

'_But I don't want to hurt Aang! But…I'm sick of pretending to care that way about him. I have to put this in perspective. Aang will find someone else. He needs to let go of earthly attachments, something that I hope he does soon. I've been regarding his peace of mind over my own… And that's just not fair to me! I'm tired of always being the one they all count on… Shouldn't I be allowed to be irresponsible sometimes!?'_

A sudden déjà vu passed in front of her eyes. The last time that she had temporarily given up responsibility, her brother had ended up dead. A wave of sadness rolled over her. That was a wound that hadn't entirely closed up yet. She closed her eyes for a second, collecting herself. "Look guys, it's too dark to see anything. And it's starting to smell like rain. I can feel it. It's going to be one hel- one big storm. We have to find a cave."

She turned to Zuko, and, thankful for the cover of darkness, took his hand. "Can you make a flame to guide us? Please?" She guessed more than saw him nod hesitantly. She then gave his hand a squeeze and let go. "Aang, go get Toph. Tell her that we need a cave. She'll understand." The airbender, thankfully, asked no questions and trotted off to find the young blind girl. Katara sighed and looked at Zuko. "Can you make that flame now?"

Just as she finished her question a flickering flame appeared in the ex-Fire Prince's hand. It's brightness kept on wavering, but it was better than nothing. Zuko's face was still as blank as it had been. Katara's stomach sunk. She needed to talk to him. The problem was the interruptions. It was then that it hit her. Toph was the answer to her questions. She just needed to have a "girl-to-girl" conversation with the younger girl.

"Zuko, come on." With that, she put her hand out to pull him up. He was a bit heavier than she had expected and she was put off balance. The flame in his hand missed her side by mere inches as he steadied her. She quickly turned away to wait for the others. It all went quiet, the night sounds echoing through the forest.

It took a while for her to see Toph and Aang. By the time she was sure that it was them, they were barely a few feet away from Zuko and herself. Katara called out to them. "Toph, could you make a cave? It's going to – ". With a crack of lightening, water started to bucket down from the sky. "pour."

The young earthbender smiled and got to work. She could feel a cave, actually rather large, just a few meters under the topsoil. If only she could reach it at such an angle as to not create an opening for the rain… She ended up making a very long tunnel that sloped down ever so slightly. "Twinkle Toes, follow me. Zuko, make a flame and get Katara to follow you. Don't lose each other."

After a while of walking, they reached a wall. "Listen guys. This "wall" is so the water that comes down the tunnel will hit this, and be diverted to the side, instead of flooding the cave we'll be in. We just have to get up the wall. Easy peasy." With those words and a smile, she jumped onto a rock and earthbended herself up the wall. Aang, from what Katara could tell with the light from Zuko's flame, had followed suit a few seconds later. That left her and Zuko staring up into the darkness.

'_How inconsiderate! They didn't even think of us…'_ Katara was thinking of a way to get water underground to lift them up without drowning the ex-prince when she felt her hands being put onto the wall, on little hollows that she could use to climb it. The flame had gone out. Zuko spoke up. "Hold on to the wall, and climb up. I'll be beside you in case you slip. And I can try to give you a bit of light if you need it. Let's go." She held on to the wall, trying to keep her breathing steady. She could do it…

They kept on climbing. Katara was going rather slowly. She had never **ever** tried climbing. And she wasn't sure that it was the best thing to try it for the first time when her life depended on it. About halfway up, Zuko detected a platform. He decided that it was time for Katara to rest. "Waterbender, just come up here, and sit down. You'll need rest, unless you want to fall down, all the way to the ground. Now let me see your hands."

Katara looked at him quizzically in the light of his flame. He simply looked back. She ended up blushing and put her hands out. Zuko grasped them. "Listen waterbender. Since I assume that you're a first time climber, you hands aren't as strong as they should be. And you might seriously mess up the muscles and the tendons. Badly enough that even your legendary healing won't help." He was quiet, all of a sudden. She felt like her breath stopped as his hands stroked hers, softly. She looked up when he stopped. "You'll be okay." His voice sounded strange, to her ears at least.

And then suddenly, a hand was pressed against her mouth. She could hear Zuko's ragged breathing behind her back. "Don't move. Don't even think of screaming for your pretty boyfriend. Be quiet." And something in his voice made her shut up. During their time since they had been on the boat, she had somewhat forgotten about the fact that Zuko was dangerous. This was serving as a quick reminder.

His breathing had somewhat slowed. However, he didn't remove his hand from her mouth. His breath was suddenly too close to her ear. "Katara, we have to talk, without the brats around. Because this will be serious. You won't like what I have to say." The words were whispered, barely audible. Katara stood there, frozen.

Zuko was quiet for a few seconds. Then let go of Katara. "Get back up. We have to keep on climbing. Don't let your hands shake too much or cut them too badly, or your blood will make your fingers slippy." With that, he turned away, refusing to look at her. She reached up above her head and grabbed the first protruding rock she could get a good hold on. She felt Zuko's arm brush hers, and they were off again.

She was rather amazed at how much ease she was having climbing up a wall that she had never seen. But even more, the ease that Zuko had really impressed her. He seemed to float up, resting beside her as easily as he could. He was patient enough to wait for her, even though she knew that she was taking forever compared to him. He was in shape, for a Prince.

Suddenly, a jolt shook her from the rock wall. She was falling down into the emptiness below. A hand was gripping her, stopping her from falling. Somehow, a platform had appeared below them. Zuko was kneeling on it, holding her as tightly as he could.

"Listen, waterbender. I'm going to try to swing you onto the rock. I just need you to not let go. Don't you dare let go!" Katara just nodded silently. She was scared. "On the count of three, okay wat- Katara? One…Two…Three!" Zuko swung her over the edge. She scraped her side on the rocks and landed heavily beside him. They both just laid there, panting slightly. Toph's voice interrupted their thoughts. It sounded a bit sheepish, yet slightly amused too.

"Sorry guys. I forgot about you." She giggled, an eerie sound in the rather large cave. Zuko just groaned. It was obvious to everyone that it had not been a mistake. "I guess that I really should bring you up now." And with a lurch, they were on the move. Katara still hadn't let go of Zuko's arm, and Toph's erratic and rash attitude had convinced her to have a second way of escape. Although she was pretty sure that she would have trouble even getting up, courtesy of the large cut on her side. She was starting to be able to feel the warm blood pooling there. _'Such a welcome problem…'_

- Zuko's POV (ish) -

Zuko had finally been happy with one of his reactions when he had pulled the water tribe girl back onto the ledge. He was fairly angry at the fact that the earthbender had forgotten them on purpose, but was more relieved than anything. After all, if he hadn't caught her, Katara would have probably plummeted to her death. It dimly registered in the back of his mind that she now had a life-debt towards him. But what really mattered was that she was still alive. It surprised him that nothing in his head had opposed itself to what he had just thought.

The one thing that slightly worried him was the fact that he wasn't sure if she was hurt. She had groaned loudly when she had landed beside him, but it could have just been from the impact. Or not. Katara, all in all, did not seem close to letting go of his arm. He sighed. After all, who really needed a right arm?

After what seemed like an eternity, they arrived at the top of the ledge. Toph was standing there looking sheepish, and the Avatar, in Zuko's opinion at least, was seemingly desperate to get his scrawny arms around Katara. It took Zuko a moment to realize that for some odd reason, the thought of Katara being touched in any way by Aang disgusted him. It made him want to… rip out the Avatar's throat? _'Strange days incomb to strange thoughts, I guess…'_ The girl in question seemed oblivious to all the tension in the air.

Zuko could feel an annoyed growl growing in his throat. He managed to quiet it in time, but his eyes had grown a couple of shades darker. Didn't Katara understand that he needed to talk to her in private? He didn't – no, he couldn't do it in front of the others. It was then that he felt her vice-like grip slowly release his arm. He was pretty sure that the whole action had been virtually undetectable from the others' point of view. Except for Toph, but he knew that she didn't really give a damn.

However, it gave him an opportunity to whisper into Katara's ear. "Remember our little deal, waterbender." He saw Katara shiver lightly.

He had stepped just a bit too close for comfort. Katara could feel his rugged breathing on the back of her neck, and his large warm hand grasping her elbow. It distracted her and had started to make it a lot more difficult to concentrate. Zuko seemed to be fully aware of the effect that he was having on her, and seemed to be enjoying and taking advantage of it. Katara wondered… _'Could he be…flirting with __**me**__?'_ She shrugged mentally.

However, much to Zuko's appreciation, she didn't move away from his touch. In fact, he thought that she might have started to waver closer to him. Not that she would ever admit it. He had thought that it might be instinctive, but then all thought of his situation flew out of his head as rocks started to fall around them. In the ruckus, he could just make out Katara's voice screaming "Toph! What's happening? Toph! **Toph!**" She sounded scared, and had backed all the way into Zuko's chest. He could feel her leaning with almost all of her weight against him, like a child against a protector. And, instinctively, he wrapped his arms around her, protectively.

The rocks kept on falling, but luckily, neither Zuko nor Katara was hit. In the darkness, they couldn't tell what was happening to the other two. But since they could both earthbend, Zuko had assumed that they would both be okay. He was more worried for himself and the waterbender he held protectively in his arms. Fire and water were surprisingly useless, for a change. He didn't dare move for fear of being hit by a stray rock. All was silenced by the noise of falling rocks.

After what seemed like an eternity, the rocks stopped. Katara slowly pulled away from Zuko's hold, albeit a bit reluctantly. She looked around, trying to discern something, anything in the darkness. She was turning towards where she thought Zuko might be when the cave was illuminated by two twin flames. She turned towards them… and her jaw literally dropped.

* * *

BWAHAHA!!! lol, evil cliffhanger. Believe me, it's worth it! But sorry about that! Hehehe... A bit more interaction between Zuko and Katara... XD Many thanks to anyone who takes the time to review. It is deeply appreciated. :) (glomps all)

On another note, SEVEN days till I fly off to London! I am beyond excited!!! D I'll write the next two chapters, and might update right before I leave if I have the time.

- Iolar-chan


	13. As The World Breaks

There stood a huge badger-mole. And on its back were the three people who she expected the least to come through the ceiling of a cave. Azula, the cold princess of the Fire Nation. Sokka, her supposedly dead big brother. And Suki, warrior of Kyoshi Island, supposedly killed by the same girl with whom she sat atop the badger. Looking a bit closer, she saw that there was a fourth person. However, she didn't recognize him. Then, she was running towards the badger-mole. Without knowing exactly how she had gotten there, she was in her brother's arms, holding on for dear life. Everything around her, even the threat of Azula that her brother seemed to be ignoring, started to fade away. _'Sokka's okay…'_ She buried her head in his chest, afraid that if she let go, he might disappear.

As soon as he had realized that Azula AND another firebender were present, Zuko had been on his guard. He had almost tried to stop Katara from running to her brother, but he figured that if his younger sister hadn't already attacked, she could wait a bit longer. He kept on sneaking furtive glances in her direction, but she seemed intent on staring at the ground. This surprised Zuko, since his sister had never been one to be shy around anyone. Did it have anything to do with the strange older boy that accompanied them, and who was sitting in the darkness? Zuko was perplexed.

After what felt like an eternity, Katara finally let go of her brother. It felt nice to see him alive. Relief had made her a bit giddy, but that didn't stop her from eyeing Azula and the other boy a bit suspiciously. She dragged Sokka over to Toph and Aang. There were smiles exchanged, but Sokka looked at Toph inquisitively. "Who are y –"

Katara interrupted him. "What happened to you? You were dead! Dead! I felt you, you were colder than death. And now you're alive! How. How did y-you do it? I thought that I-I-I had l-lost you!" She cold feel tears starting to well up in her eyes, but she resolutely tried to blink them away. That didn't stop a few from escaping and running down her cheeks. She stared at Sokka, waiting. When he didn't answer, she said.

"If you won't tell me that, at least tell me how you ended up crashing through the roof of a cave on a giant badger-mole with _**her**_!" She gasped for breath after her explosion. _'I __**have**__ to know what happened to him…'_

Sokka sighed audibly, then sat down. "Guys, sit down. This will be a long story. Azula, Tomaku, Suki, I'm pretty sure that I'll need your help remembering all the details that I'm sure Sis'll want to know...

**--- Flashback ---**

Sokka had finally made his way to the prison, after much thought on how Suki had managed to get herself caught in the first place. He knew that if it was in any way her fault, she would probably refuse to admit it. A sudden crack to his left made him turn around, in a fighting stance. He waited, willing the hidden person to step out from behind the low wall that surrounded the prison.

After a couple of rushed breaths, and seconds that seemed stretched for what seemed like an eternity, a boy who barely appeared a couple of years older than Sokka himself stepped out from his hidden position. "Hello." He said cordially, as if he hadn't just been hiding in a very compromising spot.

Sokka nodded and finally took in what the elder boy held in his right hand. A lock pick. Sokka smiled. It was kind of ironic that two people were trying to break into the same place at once… He started to smile. "You won't need that." He said as he pointed to the lock pick. "I know a way in that will be a lot easier for both of us." And, carefully, step-by-step, they followed the old man's directions. Sokka found the key and returned in front of the cell door to meet up with the other boy, whose name, as he had finally learned, was Tomaku.

**--- Back to the present ---**

"It had taken that long for me to think of asking him who exactly he was trying to get out." Sokka laughed at his own stupidity. The rest of the group eventually joined in. They had all sat down around Sokka, with a couple of lit torches around them. Zuko, Toph and Aang were on small rock seats that Toph had provided. Katara had sat down on the ground, leaning against Zuko's legs. Azula, Tomaku, Sokka and Suki were sitting with their legs crossed, finishing the circle.

"Of course," said Sokka, " he wouldn't tell me anything. He would only say that he had a friend to reason. And go figure. I never suspected anything…"

**--- Flahsback ---**

They had opened the door nervously, heads swivelling from side to side, hoping that no guard would choose that moment to pass. Then they slid into the cell. After his eyes had had enough time to adjust to the dimmed lights, Sokka's heart almost stopped. There were only two people in the cell. One was the girl he had come to save. And the other was… Azula.

**--- Back to the present ---**

"I don't really know how she got there. Azula, Tomaku, if you could explain…"

The two looked at each other, then Azula sighed. "I know that you don't like me very much. But still, you were the ones who wanted to know what happened." She felt Tomaku give her knee a little squeeze, and felt her confidence grow a little. If she wanted to be accepted by these people, she had to tell them what had happened.

"I had had a, well, an accident that had made me lose my bending. We were crossing through Kusenat and had just gone into an inn to find a place to stay, when we got pushed right into the middle of a brawl. And then, there were guards all around us, and we couldn't do a thing. I got separated from all the others, since I was the only female there. I hadn't seen Tomaku with the others. We were brought to the prison and I was put in a cell. The only other person there was Suki. Um, well, I'm not sure for exactly how long I was in there. But we were both really relieved when Tomaku and S-Sokka opened the door."

**--- Flashback ---**

Sokka had been, to say the least, flabbergasted. The girl who had been his enemy for so long, the hard, unfeeling girl had just rushed into the boy who stood beside him's arms. And then, when he turned his eyes to Suki, everything else disappeared around the,. He moved towards her, as in a trance.

"Hey Sokka." She smiled crookedly up at him. "Took you long enough."

Sokka grinned and helped her up. He felt her waver slightly, and passed his arm around her waist to steady her. Then, without a pause, he enveloped her in a platypus-bear hug. Azula (he felt a strong prick of hate wash over him as soon as he looked at her) and Tomaku (he felt incredibly, and strangely, betrayed as he looked at him) had let go of each other. Both pair stared at each other life strange cats. But a clank in the hallway brought them back to their sense. They had to get out. Sokka glared across the room. "Here's the deal. We get out, then do the talking. For now, and only for now, we're on the same side." The other three nodded quickly in assent, then started to move out of the cell.

Once they were out, they started to walk towards the village gates. A shadow stepped out, right in front of them, forcing them to come to a complete stop. The figure shoved its hood back, and Sokka sighed in relief. It was the man who had given them directions. He passed them a bundle each, and then spoke, in a voice barely above a whisper.

"There are cloaks and, if combined, enough food to get you all to the Avatar, with a bit to spare. Also, you will each need one of these." He handed them each a rod of wood, about a foot long and an inch thick. In front of their questioning gazes, he added: "They are flutes. I've been told that badger-moles appreciate music." Sokka grinned. They all bowed to the man, and crept out of the village.

Then, once they were out of earshot, the fireworks had started. Insults, accusations, blaming, etc. All had lasted deep into the night. By the time Sokka and Azula were hoarse, both Tomaku and Suki had curled up in the heavy cloaks and were sleeping soundly. It was all that Sokka and Azula could do to not break out laughing together. After all, they had just spent over an hour yelling at each other. How would that have looked?

Noticing how close they had come to starting to bridge the gap between them, they started to yell with renewed vigour. It was during that time that a man dressed in the garb of an Earth Kingdom messenger had hurried up, jumping off his ostrich-horse. He ran in between them, silencing both teenagers into shock. "Today is a dark day. I have bad, terrible, horrible news: Ba Sing Se has been taken. Thousands were slaughtered. It was renamed New Ozai. Ba Sing Se… has fallen."

He turned around, yelling, as he left. "Tell all you meet for this is the darkest day yet." Both teenagers just stood there, as if frozen by the news. Sokka then turned to Azula and said bitterly "Are you happy now? Your father has finally managed to destroy the one beacon of hope left in the world. What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be off, you and your boyfriend, to go celebrate with your damn father?"

**--- Back to the present ---**

"Listen, Azula, I _**am**_ sorry about what I said. Even if I meant every single word at the time. Seriously, I didn't know about it." Sokka looked at Azula earnestly, trying to convey his feelings.

To Katara's surprise, her brother seemed genuinely sorry about what he had said. But that was just an underlying notion, compared to the dread that had taken over her heart when she had heard that the last bastion for all that she stood for had fallen. It couldn't have, not when they needed it to get the strength to break the Fire Nation.

She could feel the terror starting to grow in the pit of her stomach. But she couldn't show it. It wasn't an option to be weak enough to show it. Desperately, she kept her muscles as loose as she could. After all, she had somehow ended up against _**Zuko**_'s legs and she couldn't let him know by her entire body tensing up.

But then, amongst the terror coursing through her mind and body, she felt two hands ease themselves onto her shoulders, and grasp them softly. Reassuringly. She closed her eyes tightly, trying to ease the terror that was making her very soul tremble. She was thankful for darkness that was keeping her face, and expression in the shadows. If Ba Sing Se had fallen, it was the end of everything that she had so carefully planned.

By the time that she regained enough control over her thoughts to take in the world around her, the others had drifted off. Sokka was talking animatedly to Tomaku (with the latter providing the light), watched attentively by the young Avatar. Azula and Toph were looking at each other like strange cats, even if one couldn't really _look_ and the other was only roughly aware of the other's expression because of the darkness. And Suki was patting Appa (while carefully avoiding his over-enthusiastic licks). The atmosphere was finally getting more relaxed. Katara couldn't even see her hand in front of her face if she turned away from the fire. And it was the darkness' fault that she had forgotten about the ex-prince sitting behind her. He had removed his hands from her shoulders, so she had no notion about where he was. And she certainly hadn't thought that he would still be standing behind her.

Hence why she was extremely surprised when two hands grasped her, one by the shoulder and the other one by the arm as soon as she stood up. She almost jumped out of her skin. But Zuko didn't even allow her to speak. His hand quickly moved from her arm to envelop her waist while the other remained on her shoulder. He still stood slightly behind her.

"Listen, Katara." She shivered, involuntarily at the sound of his voice. "You agreed to have a … _talk_ with me. And guess what. It's talking time. Come now. I'll lead. I have better night vision than you, and I know where we're going." Katara slowly nodded and felt his hand remove itself from her shoulder. After all, she _**had**_ promised, and had the feeling that something very important was on the verge of happening. For once, she was following her intuition, something she highly doubted at best.

Zuko's arm rose from her waist to her shoulders and he tightened his grip. They started to walk, not exchanging a word. Katara could feel her heart pounding, but she wasn't sure if it was from her newfound closeness with Zuko, or from fear of what he might tell her.

**--- Zuko's POV (ish) ---**

After walking for a couple of minutes, Zuko stopped. However, the waterbender hadn't got the message and stumbled forward. He rolled his eyes with a disparaging smile, and steadied her. He was rather nervous about the news that he had to tell her, but he had figured that it would be easier to tell her than to try to talk to any other of the members of the group. She was the most likely to believe him.

'_And you wanted time alone with her…'_ said a treacherous voice from the back of his head. By then, Katara had moved such as to be standing facing him. In the dark he couldn't read her facial expression, but the whole moment felt rather solemn. He took a deep breath, steeling himself for what he was about to tell her. He knew, that after the news about Ba Sing Se, she wouldn't want to hear about what he had to say, since it made their situation all that more desperate. But he had to tell someone.

He closed his eyes, and turned his head away from her. Trying to keep the feeling out of his voice, he said, "Katara, Souzon's comet is close. It's starting to affect my firebending. Azula will already have felt it. It's getting really close. So is the day of Black Sun. We have little time. The comet will be here in barely two days, by my reckoning. The end of everything is here, Katara. The day where everything will change, one way or the other."

* * *

Sorry that it took me so long to post this one! London (totally awesome btw) had me without any access to the computer. I almost went insane! XP Hope you guys all had an awesome New Years and that 2008 treats you well!

Rock on

PS: Don't be afraid to review! I don't bite. Anyone see Sweeney Todd?


	14. Together we stand strong

"The end of everything is here, Katara." The words reverberated through her very soul. Why did everything have to come crashing down on her in a matter of hours? She turned away from Zuko. Her eyes were slowly but surely glazing over. Turning as cold as she felt inside. As cold as the hands of death that she could almost _feel_ slowly taking hold of the world, and crushing it to dust. Her world, and everything in it that she held so dear.

Zuko didn't even try to reach out to her. He didn't know what he would say if he did. And the news was affecting her too. After all, what were you supposed to say, or think when your power crazed father was on the verge of being able to tap into an unimaginable amount of strength and power? And when your always-conniving sister appeared to have mysteriously changed sides for even more mysterious reasons? When you hadn't heard from the one man who had stuck with you through it all for months on end? When you feared that he was…dead?

After a while passed in silence, they sat down, at different ends of the clearing. The clouds had finally cleared, and the pure light of the moon shone down upon them. Yet still, neither of them spoke. The wind whistled through the branches, and the leaves rustled. But no sound was uttered. A cloud passed in front of the moon, but both teenagers remained in their respective shrouds of silence. Time seemed suspended, as if refusing to move on without the two youngsters sitting motionless.

Both dozed off after a while, neither having spoken since Zuko's outburst. They were exhausted, and knew that it'd be a lot easier on both of them if they faced what they had to face in the morning. Once the raw emotion had had time to settle in, and that the sharpness of it had lessened. Once they stopped being at a loss of what to think. Once they understood what was going on. Once their minds were out of the state of numbness that they were presently in.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0 Back to the Campfire 0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Everyone had eventually gone to bed. The last one to doze off was Suki. But in her semi-sleepiness, the overhead moon seemed to grow larger. And the she could see a face. Actually, no, it was an entire body. The body of an ethereally beautiful young woman. She seemed to be coming closer and closer with each passing second. But Suki's sleep-starved mind found it quite normal. She simple smiled up and the moon girl. Everything seemed so clear… "You're the one that made him so overprotective of everyone, aren't you? The one who makes him seem so sad while he looks at the moon."

Yue nodded, with a sad smile on her face. "I still miss him. I won't deny it. But you can love him for both of us. And he _does_ need our help, after all!" At this, Suki chuckled lightly. "He deserves to be happy, but will also need a strong ally in his darker days. Someone who will always have faith in him no matter what. He will _need_ us. No matter what he says."

Suki smiled at the semi-transparent girl in front of her. "You still love him, don't you…Not only do you miss him. You still love him." She smiled ruefully. "I think that I understand what you want from me. But more importantly, you should know that he misses you too. I'll try to help to make him happy, or as happy as I can make him, okay? I'm just glad you're not too mad at me for trying. You were his first love, but between the two of us, we should be able to figure out a way to do make this work. Thanks, Spirit of the Moon. It's awesome…the way that you're willing to give me a chance. Thanks, Yue."

The two girls, connected despite themselves, embraced warmly. Suki was too tired to wonder at the fact that she could touch a spirit, but was happy that she could. After all, souls could recognize when they were meant to love the same soul sometime in their lifetime. Yue smiled and gently backed up. "Listen, Suki-chan." Suki was rather surprised to hear the archaic appellation used, but since Yue was a spirit, it kind of made sense that she would use it. "I have put a tiny…well, it's kind of a link. I'm not really sure about how to explain it. But if you kind of…search? Yes, that would be the world. Look for the link in you head. It will be slightly pulsing. If you touch it mentally, you'll be in direct contact with my thoughts, and I'll be in your thoughts. It's kind of iffy, but I'm pretty sure we'll be able to figure it out quickly enough. If you're bored, or just want someone to talk to, don't be afraid to use it." She smiled. "I'll appreciate hearing from you, Suki-chan."

And then, she faded away. Suki felt a warm pulsing start up at the back of her head. She smiled. Yue was good. She had managed to give Suki a way to tell her if there was a problem with Sokka, and a way for the Gaang to reach her if they needed any help with anything Spirit-World related. Suki slowly fell asleep with a tiny smile on her face. Her conscience was at peace.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0 Middle of the night 0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

_Toph's Dream _

_Dark. Pain! Screams… all around, no on there…_

_Fear… You could smell it. Dark. Screams echoing._

_It was the end. Over… No more hope! It was…Pain. Pain!_

_Screams. Lightening cracked. A bolt seared across the sky._

_No…more hope? Ever. Never. Dark!_

_They died. All of them…Dark. Screams. No hope._

_Red all over. Eyes flashing. Dark. He stared._

_Fall. No more. Death. Death by fire…_

_End of the world. End of everything._

_He had died. No more hope. Pain… Dark, Fear._

_Tears…no more. Never. No more hope._

Toph sat up, breathing quickly. It had happened again. The visions were back. And, if she could trust what had happened last time, Aang would be after her soon to ask her what she had seen. Well, more of demand to know. And she doubted that anyone would bother to interrupt him this time around. Not that she minded Aang as a person… He was fun to tease. It was the dark side of him that she was almost afraid of. He turned into a person with no mercy, no "nice flower obsessed side". Then she felt it. The little fluttering of feet that meant that Aang had just jumped into the air. She waited for the feather-light impact that meant that he had landed before she whispered, in a voice that barely wavered, "W-We have t-to talk, Aang." It was amazing at how much effort that they had taken.

She had been taken aback when Aang had out-earthbended her. She had been slightly broken, the walls around her cracked. And the fact that she had kept on having the visions only made her more nervous. She wasn't even sure about what she was going to talk to Aang about. She was rather nervous, and was afraid of what he might do if she flat out refused to talk. She would have normally not even have questioned his intentions, or the amount of danger he represented. But she had no idea what this darker, obviously power-infused version of the Avatar might do, or do to her. She had actually started to suspect that he was in a variation of the Avatar State, in which he was fully aware of the world around him, yet still possessing the power of all the Avatars before him.

She stopped behind a rather large boulder, a few meters away from their camp. She made sure that her back was to the rock, so as to be able to know the general direction of Aang. He seemed to have developed a way of avoiding her probing. "I…" She faltered. What was she supposed to say?! Then…

"There are people coming here. I can feel them walking!! And I think… that they're Fire Nation soldiers. I think. Although I could be wrong, since I'm just guessing from their walking styles. And there are a lot of them! We have to go wake the others!"

Glad with the distraction, she sent small rocks popping up under all of the sleeping forms that she could sense. Zuko and Katara's forms seemed to be far off, but she didn't bother to really think of it, absorbed as she was by trying to calculate the numbers that they were going to be dealing with. They were coming too fast… They weren't going to have time to react!

0o0o0o0o0o0o0 Zuko's Point Of View 0o0o0o0o0o0

He had woken up at the sensation of being roughly pulled to his feet. It took him a couple seconds before he realised that he was being tied to a tree. He started to wriggle, but the rope was already solidly around him by the time he managed it. _'Katara!'_ He blinked at the light from the flames around him, trying to see her through the darkness. It then dawned on him. _'Firebenders! They caught up to us!'_

"Hello little prince." A cold drawl that he would recognize anywhere. Zhao. Zuko wondered for barely a second why he had left his ship, but then focused his attention on the man in front of him. He could feel the hate welling up inside him. He didn't even bother to acknowledge him. Zuko figured that Zhao was only trying to make him mad enough so that he would reveal things that he shouldn't.

"Oh, Zuzu, I heard the most interesting news the other day. In fact, it was about a man that I believe you hold dear. Your uncle, the Ex- (he put extra emphasis on the "ex" part) General Iroh." His eyes caught Zuko's almost hidden look of interest. "Ah, so you _do_ want to know. Well, as you know, your sister captured your uncle a while back. She handed him over to the prison near the Capital. When she got ex-patriated," (At this, Zuko managed to muster up a look of surprise.) "Your father let him rot in his cell for a while before he finally took interest in him. Oh, I must say, you father has the best sense of timing ever."

Zuko's stomach was starting to drop. It was definitively bad news that his uncle had been in his father's hands. The same hands that had scarred him so badly. And the fact that Ozai had actually taken interest in Iroh's fate was even worse… Zuko wasn't sure that he wanted to know what Zhao meant with the comment about timing. But it wasn't his choice to hear or not. The spiteful man kept on talking.

"You know, a couple of weeks ago, it was your banishment anniversary. Who would ever have known that your father would think of that day as **the** day to deal with your uncle for good? Your uncle was executed on the same day as you were banished. Executed by your own father, in the same Agni Kai arena as you yourself learned the tough lessons of life. Good day to you, _Zuzu_."

Zuko just stared as the man that he loathed went to rejoin his soldiers. And suddenly, there was a **very** loud war yell as the blind earthbender, the strange boy that came with his sister, Azula and the Avatar came rushing at the soldiers from one side of the clearing. Katara's brother and the other girl that had arrived the other day ran in from the other side, looking just as determined. Zhao and his men started to back off.

Before long, they had high-tailed it out of the clearing. Sokka quickly slit Zuko and Katara's ropes. No one spoke as they walked towards Appa. Zuko walked as in a daze. He was just…stunned. He hadn't had time to take anything in. It was just happening all at the same time. All at the wrong time. Iroh…was gone. It just hadn't hit him completely yet. He didn't want it to. _'As long as I am still busy, I won't have time to think about it. No!'_ He hurriedly made his way to the camp to pack his things and to help with the others' things. They had decided that Sokka, Tomaku, Suki, Zuko and Azula would be flying on Appa. The others could propel themselves thanks to their bending, and they were sure that if they all got on to Appa, and added their weight to the weight of the gear, the latter would be exhausted after only a few minutes.

Zuko didn't want to fall asleep. But after all that he had just gone through, and all that he had felt, and thought about, and admitted… It was no surprise that he was asleep within mere minutes. He didn't want to see his own dreams. He was scared of himself. Of what he might think of. Of what his conscience was trying to tell him. Of what might happen if he tried to think of what Zhao had cruelly told him, and of what it entailed. He was terrified of sleeping, of thinking, of resting, of talking… Of remembering.

_He was barely five years old. Running through the hallways of the palace, laughing care freely like only innocent children can. He rounded a corner and stopped dead. His father and his uncle were both standing there, seemingly in deep discussion. He stared at them for a second, then hid behind the corner as quickly as possible. The voices started to escalate. Timidly, he looked out, and saw his father shaking his fist at his uncle. Zuko felt his stomach sink. Suddenly, a blast of fire erupted. He sank down to the ground hiding his head in his arms. He didn't want to see what had happened. Like any five year old, he was terrified._

_But then both men appeared in front of him. Iroh smiled openly, but Ozai seemed rather troubled. Both seemed to be looking at him intently._

_Ozai spoke first. "Boy, you know that you must always put your father before all. I created you. You have a debt to me. Now come."_

_Zuko looked up at him fearfully. He didn't want to have to choose. But something in him was pushing him to make a choice. There was no middle ground._

_Iroh just kept on smiling. Zuko relaxed slightly. He wouldn't be hurt._

_Ozai cleared his throat. "What are you waiting for, boy? Get up, you wretch! You don't deserve to be of my blood! You don't even deserve to be alive. Yet I am talking to you, and if you knew anything, you would show me some respect and come with me."_

_Zuko's eyes went wide. He didn't understand. Why was his father mad at him? "Daddy…"_

_Ozai's eyes flashed angrily. "Never call me that. You are no son of mine. You dishonoured me in front of the whole war council. You dared to oppose me. I am not your father."_

_Zuko could feel the tears start to fall down on his cheeks. Why did his father hate him? He was just trying to be good. But Daddy was always mean to him. Always telling him that he was useless. Not as good as Azula. Why did Daddy always hate him? Why? He had never done anything wrong! But was he really useless like Daddy said? What was happening? _

"_Daddy!" Zuko cried out. "Daddy! I'm sorry, Daddy!"_

_Ozai's face went blank. "You dared to call me that again. You stupid, useless boy. You never learn. Well, it's time that you learn a lesson. And suffering shall be your teacher!" His fists lit up. The five year-old Zuko curled up into a ball, covering his face. He couldn't look up at his father. He … deserved this. Daddy was right. He **was** useless. Tears rushed down his cheeks. He waited for the pain of burning fire. But then…_

"_No Ozai. Not this time. You can't touch the boy. I won't let you. He is not, as you just said, yours anymore. I claim him as my own son. And you shall not touch one of my blood." Zuko peered up between his hands that covered his face. His uncle, the Dragon of the West, had stepped in front of him. And turned to smile at Zuko. _

_Zuko screamed. "UNCLE!!!"_

_And it was like in slow motion. A wave of fire left Ozai's extended hand. And hit Iroh in the chest, as true as an arrow. And then, the Dragon of the West fell. Gracefully, as if time itself refused to let him go. He slowly lay down in front of the terrified child. And Zuko's eyes clouded even more with tears from a pain that he refused to feel. Iroh was still smiling. Even in death, he brought comfort to his nephew. _

_Another sound drew Zuko's attention. Daddy was falling too. Daddy… with a hole in his chest. Daddy was gone. Daddy…couldn't hurt him anymore. Daddy would never love him. Uncle was gone forever. Uncle, who called him a son. Daddy, who renounced him. Daddy who said he hated him. Uncle who said he loved him. Dead. Both of them. Zuko was afraid. Alone. Forever. Alone. Uncle. Father. Iroh. Ozai. Dragon of the West. Fire Lord. Death… Pain… No more life. Love… Gone… Son… Nephew… Son… Daddy. Uncle… _

The rest of the Gaang had woken up to terrible screams. Zuko had risen up in the air, surrounded by a halo of fire. Burning as bright as the sun. His unearthly scream had ceased, but his for remained suspended a couple of feet in the air. Through the fire, they could barely glimpse his body, but had figured out that he looked mostly unharmed. Sokka had remarked that this looked rather like the time when Aang had come into the Avatar State for the first time, at the Air Temple. Katara had tried to break the shield of fire with a dagger of ice, but it had only melted. Toph had tried to grab though to get Zuko's feet and pull him down, but the rocks had turned to liquid magma and she had quickly relented. Aang had tried to blow the flames out, but they only grew wilder, forcing the group to retreat until they returned to normal.

Azula had merely declared that he wouldn't come down until he was ready, and had returned to what she had been doing. Tomaku stared at the ball of fire thoughtfully and Suki had given up a while before Azula. Eventually, they decided that one of them should stay near the ball of fire that imprisoned Zuko while the others went walking around to get some food and water. Even if they were in a cave, that didn't mean that they weren't going to find anything: with Toph's super-senses, they were sure to get at least some things to eat, and water was in no short supply. Since Aang could waterbend, and that Katara was the only healer amongst them, she was voted to stay near the living fireball, in case he ended up burning himself when he got out.

She had deeply resented this at first, but the rest of the group ran away quickly and left her with the decision of either going after them, and missing a hurt Zuko exit the flames, or staying put. And, being Katara, she stayed. It was a rather boring thing to be doing, but after a while, she started to wonder whether Zuko could actually hear her or not. Feeling rather stupid, she called out. "Zuko, are you okay?"

In response, a flame burst out from the top of the sphere, almost giving her a heart attack. She backed away a few feet. She stayed quiet for a second, wondering if he was mad at her, or if he could even actually hear her. And, being who she was, she tried again. "Zuko, do you need help to get out of there?" This time, the fireball seemed to shrink a bit. Katara was puzzled. Did that mean that he wasn't okay, but that he needed help anyways? _'One last try, then I'll see if I can get him out of there.'_ She took a step towards it again. "Zuko, what did Zhao say about Iroh –"

At the retired General's name, the ball of fire seemed to explode. Katara jumped onto the ground in an effort to protect herself. But there was no need to do so. The fire that had so scared her didn't even touch her. As if it was purposely avoiding her, not wanting to hurt her. She stood up. The fire had receded, and the fireball was at a constant size again. But now the waterbender had an idea. She made herself a water glove, just for extra protection, and approached the wall of fire that separated her from the elder boy.

Hesitantly, she moved forward until she was almost touching it. Every single reflex that she had as a waterbender was screaming at her to get out of there, and to back away from the fire. But she forced herself to keep on going. And, as she had predicted, the fire recoiled from her, not seeming to want to burn her. She reached out with her gloved hand, praying that she had used enough water. As soon as it touched the wall of fire, a cloud of steam formed around her.

She kept on reaching forward. To her horror, the water was completely gone around her hand. But she didn't feel any burning pain. So she didn't withdraw her hand. Suddenly, she touched something that felt as cold as ice. And started when it grasped her hand, pulling her forward. Terrified, she resisted, but was overwhelmed by the superior strength of the one pulling her. She closed her eyes, ready to die. Heart full of terror, but no screams coming out of her mouth.

And then, feeling nothing other than ice cold, she opened her eyes. And there stood Zuko, floating in mid-air. Yet so was she. He was grasping her hand. He was a pale white, almost icy. The inferno that swirled around them seemed to do nothing to warm him. His eyes were wide open in terror, and confusion. He shook slightly, as if he was cold. _'But that's impossible! With these flames, he should be burning up…'_ It was then that she noticed that she wasn't warm, or sweating anymore. The iciness of the centre of the fireball had chilled her to the bone.

Zuko still held onto her hand, like onto a lifeline. Then he spoke. His voice was grave and emotionless. Like the cold fire that surrounded them. "You wanted to know about Iroh." The inferno responded with a roar. Zuko didn't even seem to notice. His eyes shone were still staring piercingly at her, making her skin prickle. They seemed almost … dead. "Iroh. My uncle. The only father I ever had." All around them was being consumed as the fireball erupted. Yet the two teenagers stood, face to face, heart to heart, in the middle of it all. "He was killed. Executed. By the man who always claimed that I was no son of his. By my traitorous father. By the man who hates his own son. By … Dad." He seemed to almost spit out the last word.

His eyes had captured Katara's and were bringing her down into the swirling depths of the broken heart of the young man who stood in front of her. Darkness, Light, interwined, swirling all around them as they made their descent to his very soul. Katara had started to shake, mirroring the one in front of her. Both were terrified, reliving time and time again the times when they were at their weakest. The darkest times in their lives.

_My mother died when I was too young…_ **Mom sacrificed herself for me…**

_Dad left me all alone. Abandoned me. _**Daddy hated me. He wished I was never born.**

_I was so scared… _**So scared… **_So alone…_** I was so lonely…**

_I had to grow up too fast…_**I was made to be an adult overnight…**

_I hate this war…_ **This war has ruined my life…**

_It just … … _**… … isn't fair.**

_I'm terrified I won't be good enough. _**Scared I won't know what the right choice is.**

_We're just teenagers… _**but we don't have a choice.**

_**We have to end this war.**_

_**We have to be strong.**_

_**Together.**_

And when they resurfaced, both clinging to each other as tightly as possible, they knew that trust would never be an issue. Never again. Seeing the soul of another person wasn't exactly a walk in the park. They were linked inextricably to each other now. But it would help them through the darkest times. In the deepest despair. When they truly needed someone, they would know someone else was there for them.

And then they were standing on the ground, with no notion of how they got there. Still holding each other as tightly as physically possible. Katara was vaguely conscious of the fact that the fireball had disappeared; leaving a mist that blocked anything further than three feet away from view. The noises of the cave slowly came back into being. And the two teenagers reluctantly let go of each other, blushing horridly now that the moment was passed. Zuko rubbed the back of his neck, while Katara fiddled with her hands. Until she noticed that her right one was all red and puffy. Her stomach sank. She needed to get it healed before the rest of the Gaang returned, or they would think that Zuko had attacked her.

"Zuko, cup your hands." He looked at her confusedly, but did as she said. With her left hand, she bended some water out of the mist into his hands, then put her right one into it. Luckily, his hands were larger than her own and contained enough water for her to immerge her injured hand almost completely. She healed the first two layers of skin, bended out some more water, and then healed the final layer. Her hand looked exactly like it had before the whole incident.

She grinned, then lifted her eyes back to Zuko's face. "Ok, Hot Head, we now have to find a convincing story to tell the rest of them before they get back. Since I'm betting that they're going to want to know where the steam came from. And I hope that you're a good liar, because Toph is a walking-talking lying detecting machine."

Zuko's grin matched her own. This was going to be fun, after the deeply emotional morning. After all, how often do you get to lie through your teeth to people who would joyously scalp you and anyone else involved if they knew what had actually happened?

They turned towards a clear slate of rock and started to plot their final act.


	15. Through the Fire and Flames

They turned towards a clear slate of rock and started to plot their final act.

* * *

"Ok, Hot Head, we need to think of something, really quickly." Katara was starting to get antsy. Not only did she have the feeling that Sokka and the others were getting closer, but she had to deal with the fact that one of the people who was going to be judging what she said so closely could tell if she exhibited even the smallest amount of nervousness.

"That doesn't mean that this is hopeless." Zuko looked up. Katara froze. "Sorry, I was just thinking out loud."

"What doesn't mean that this is hopeless?"

Katara didn't answer, stubbornly. A mad hope had started to grow within her, and she wouldn't allow the ex-Fire Prince to shatter it.

"Tell me, waterbender. We need to find an explanation really quickly, and you withholding information is certainly not going to help."

"Fine. I was just thinking. Toph can only tell whether somebody is lying by judging variations in their physical signs. Like your heartbeat, and any trembling. But if there weren't any signs to be sensed, then she couldn't possibly tell if you were lying. We just have to find a way to eliminate the nervousness."

Zuko just looked at her, without any visible change in his expression. Katara's heart beat slightly off tempo as his eyes locked with her own. With a monumental effort, she managed to tear her gaze away from his. His lack of response put her even more on edge. What was he thinking? Did he even actually believe what she was saying? Mentally shaking herself, she continued to expose her plan, avoiding looking as the elder boy.

"We just need to find something that has the right amount of truth in it, so that we can feel comfortable saying it, but that doesn't make Sokka want to kill either of us. He'll be the most suspicious. Aang will accept our answer the quickest. I don't know about Azula. She seems to have changed. But you never know. She might have retained her initial mistrust of anything that might have possibly moved in the last thousand years. So what do you think we should say?"

There was still no response. Katara finally dared to lift her eyes back to Zuko's. They drew her in, like a vacuum, sucking away any willpower that she might have had left. He hadn't moved, yet it felt to her like his presence was slowly overpowering her, leaving her abandoned and trembling. Her hands were shaking slightly, and her thoughts were spinning out of control. Only when he looked away was she able to regain control.

"W-we could tell him that... uhh... that I was just sitting there, and that suddenly, you stopped being on fire and fell down. I just got hit by a couple of the flames, which would explain why my hand is still kind of red. We then tried to recuperate here, waiting for them to return. And you don't remember what happened during the time you were in the flames, understand? Seems simple, and straight to the point, while not leaving out anything major enough for them to ask questions about."

When he still didn't respond, Katara felt anger grow in her heart. She could understand that he didn't want to talk to her, but it was not reason to completely ignore her, and what she was saying. After all, she was trying to protect them both from the rage of her brother, and Zuko was not being very helpful. Even more than that, the demeaning attitude that he seemed to like adopting towards her was getting on her nerves, especially since she had been the one to pull him out of the blaze.

Her eyes became slits. If he was going to be an asshole, then she was going to do her best to pay him back in kind. She stood up in front of Zuko, towering over him. "Zuko! If you're going to ignore everything I say, then why don't you just go curl up in a little corner and die! I don't even know why I helped you get out of those flames. You seemed quite cozy, in there. And you didn't even thank me. Now, you can't be bothered to help me plan what the hell we're going to tell Sokka when he comes back. Well I have news for you, mister. I'm -"

Zuko had risen so quickly that Katara had stopped mid-sentence. He was standing less than a foot in front of her, openly staring at her with one of the most intense looks she had ever seen on his face. Katara couldn't help it: she stared back. Zuko almost seemed to be in a daze. He grabbed her hands, and pulled her even closer to him. So close that she could see every rise and fall of his scar.

* * *

---Zuko POV (ish)----

So close that he could see every single freckle on her cheeks. His heart was beating so hard against his ribcage that it was a miracle that he could even breathe. Even that had become difficult as he lost himself in her cerulean eyes. All that he saw there was confusion. No fear, not even the smallest iota, tainted the look of pure trust that underlay what her eyes were telling him.

In that moment, he felt the compulsion to be honest. To tell her all that he had hidden, even to himself with the hope that it would disappear. For some reason, he seemed incapable of looking away. But he knew that if he didn't break their gaze, he would tell her more than he ever wanted her to know. In this case, nothing could have been worse. But something, deep down, didn't want him to turn away. Didn't want him to have to tell her more falsities that she most certainly did not deserve to hear.

"Katara..."

Her name rang in the silence around them. Deep underground, the ever present sounds of the forest, of the sea, even of the town were no longer audible. That one sound had cracked through the silence like a whip. And it drew him even further into her eyes, when they started to sparkle with the way he said her name. He wanted to let go of who he had been, and start anew... But he didn't know how to. 'I'll do my darned best, though.'

"Katara..." He tried again. "Uh... Thank you." He didn't know what to do after that. Seeing her eyes shine even brighter, he did something that he would have never dared to do in any other circumstance. He pulled her into a fierce hug, almost engulfing her smaller form. He felt like he never wanted to let go.

* * *

----- Katara POV -----

When he had hugged her, she had stopped breathing altogether. Any coherent thought that she still had vanished from her head altogether, leaving her standing in the circle of his arms, defenceless. And then she discovered that she didn't want to have her defences up against him. Not anymore. The warmth of his body, so much warmer than her own, immediately coursed over her. She didn't want to move... Didn't ever want him to let go. In a moment such as this, she couldn't feel any more of the animosity that had plagued her all day. Even the wound in her side had stopped its constant throbbing.

She slowly gained consciousness of just how close he had pulled her. She was squashed against his chest, but she was by no means complaining. He was too warm, too present for her to even consider pulling away. His hands started to ghost over her back, soothing. It wasn't fair, the power he had over her. Yet somehow, she knew, in that moment, that she could trust him to not misuse it on her. Not because he wasn't good enough, but because she had seen his heart. He cared too much.

And then- "Get your filthy firebender hands off my sister, you fucking asshole!"

Evidently Sokka didn't feel the same way. He was running towards them, the rest of the Gaang in tow. Katara felt something snap inside of her. She tore out of Zuko's hold, and steadied herself on her feet, between the firebender and her brother. Her eyes were blazing. Her brother was interfering where she did most obviously not want him: he had nothing to do with what was going on. And he didn't understand, like usual.

She knew that she was terrifying when she got angry, mostly because of her unmatched skills when it came to waterbending. However, Sokka, being the older brother he was, had refused to see how his little sister could kill him on a whim, if she had ever wanted to. He still viewed her as the young child that his father had entrusted to his care when he had left. Katara's resentment that had piled up to the size of a rather large mountain was finally coming out. Sokka swearing at Zuko after they had just shared such an intimate moment was the straw that broke the camel-bear's back.

"Don't you talk to him like that. First, it's none of your business who I let and who I don't let hug me. Secondly, you don't know anything about the context, like usual. And thirdly, you don't know Zuko. So shut up, Sokka."

He merely laughed at her, cruelly.

"You really think that he was just hugging you innocently, without any thoughts in the back of his head? I know that you grew up pretty sheltered, but still, Kat. Don't tell me that you're that stupid. It's obvious that he was feeling you up, getting ready to go in for the kill. Or, more literally, for the intercourse. He's a guy, and a firebender. And, oh, did you forget, the fucking ex-prince of the Fire Nation. That would mean that he's had a hell of a lot of practice seducing random women. You wouldn't be the first or the last on his list of conquests."

Katara glared at her older brother. She knew that normally he wasn't the brightest, but this went beyond being simply thick. He was being a pure and simple moron. She felt the rage inside her break through some invisible barrier that had held it at bay until then. An incredible feeling of power rushed through her, making her stand up taller, and appear even more intimidating than during her average spiel of anger. She felt animated with the desire to wound Sokka as badly as he had her.

"Well, at least I'm not having sex while I'm unmarried. Do you really think that I believe you and Suki merely travelled together, and kissed once when you were reunited? I'm not a kid anymore, Sokka. You really should be ashamed of yourself. It's not something that any honourable man would do to an unwed woman."

Sokka laughed again. He shook his head, and then went in for the kill.

"You know what, Kat? You're a kid. A little, stupid girl who has no idea what she's up against in the long run. You have no clue as to what Zuko would have done, and you're too fucking innocent to even bother considering that he had any other motives than to hug you. Face it. You're a child. A naïve, useless child. How about you go back to your pots and pans, and let us adults resolve this situation? Unless you finally came to terms with how horrible your cooking is in the first place."

She couldn't hold it in anymore. Didn't want to, as a matter of fact.

"Well you know what, you pompous asshole? I wish we had never found you. I wish you had stayed dead!"

She turned and ran, heart pumping. Katara didn't want him to see the tears that overflowed from her eyes when she screamed the last word. She didn't want him to notice the hurt look that had covered her face for a mere instant before she had gained enough control to make it vanish. In fact, she could barely breathe. She sprinted off into the dark of the cave, leaving the others behind her, stunned.

She stumbled as she ran, but her muscles wouldn't let her slow down. Her heart wouldn't let her slow down, because she knew that no matter how much she hurt herself physically by falling every five steps, the pain would be infinitely smaller than if she was to stop and think of what had just happened. She had already been badly shaken after her experience with Zuko: things had just escalated after that. The thoughts hurt more than she had thought they would. It was too much. She sped up, trying to leave them behind her, where they couldn't hurt her.

* * *

----- Zuko POV ----

He had felt an unexpected surge of anger when Katara's brother had ripped them apart. The rage only grew when he had seen the other boy scream at the girl he had been holding in his arms. He didn't understand how Sokka could be so mean to his own sister. 'I mean, I wasn't even that bad to Zula, and she was basically pure evil!'

When Sokka had started to accuse him of wanting to have sex with Katara, Zuko had almost lost it. He had opened his mouth, full of the intent of berating the younger male, but Katara was quicker. And when she ran off, he had seen the tears in her eyes. They had made his heart do a sort of odd contortion, in his chest. He wanted nothing more in that instant than to hold her. But he had pushed the thought into the back of his head as quickly as he could. 'I shouldn't think of that. It isn't.... fitting for me to... to want to hold her. So badly that it hurts...'

With each passing second of the awkward silence that Sokka had immersed himself in, Zuko felt worse and worse about not going after Katara. When Aang finally took the initiative to walk away from the seemingly frozen Sokka, Zuko cleared his throat.

"I'm going for a walk. I'll be back later."

He turned his back... and didn't see it coming. Sokka had sprung onto him, tackling him to the ground, and starting to punch and claw him with all of his strength. Zuko was shocked for an instant, then let his instincts take over. He brought his hand to the back of Sokka's neck, and squeezed. The younger man immediately froze.

"Listen Sokka, get off me right now. You know what I can do."

After a second that seemed like an eternity, the young water tribesman clambered off the firebender. But before he walked away, he whispered, as if for Zuko's ears alone, "Don't you dare do anything to my sister. Or next time, I might just fucking stab you instead of tackling you."

With a deliberate roll of the eyes, Zuko got up, and dusted himself off. He turned away from the fire, and set off into the darkness, whistling. He was trying his best to seem nonchalant, but he was worried about what might have happened to Katara. For all he respected her waterbending mastery, she did not have a way of illuminating her way, and there seemed to be no shortage of ravines and random cliffs in the cavern.

Once he knew that he was outside of the area where the others could see him, he lit up a small flame, and made it dance in front of him in order to avoid falling prey to the same ravines that he feared for Katara. As he progressed in the general direction he thought he had seen her got, doubts started to assault him. There were so many things that could have happened to her, each worse than the last. He didn't even want to start to consider all of the alternatives.

In retrospect, it surprised him just how strongly his mind and body had reacted to any possibility of the waterbender being hurt. He knew that he had gone from not giving a shit to actually caring whether she lived or died, but he hadn't realized how far beyond that his feelings extended. In fact, he was still rather deeply in denial. But he didn't need to know that.

He had let his thoughts wander, yet again. Squinting his eyes, he tried to see what was ahead of him, without success. He had the distinct feeling that he was going further and further off the course that the waterbender had taken. Unwilling to quit, he kept on going forward, fuelled by the wild hope that he might somehow cross her path. He didn't even know what he would do in the odd case of him catching her. All he knew what that he had to.

* * *

----- Katara POV -------

She had just ran, not even caring where her feet landed. She only knew that she had to get as far away from Sokka as she could. Her breath was starting to come in gasps, and the large opening in her side was bleeding again. But she couldn't stop. And even as her steps slowed, she was still refusing to stop running. Having already fallen twice, the blindness with which she was faced was becoming a more dangerous enemy than she could have ever predicted.

As she stumbled even further into the darkness, the stupidity of what she had done started to set in. "Going off into the middle of a cave when I have no way whatsoever of providing light for myself? What was I thinking? I don't even remember HOW to get back to the others. That must have appeared so childish... Sometimes Sokka is right. I do act like a child. I'm a fucking IDIOT!"

As she screamed this last sentence, she tripped and fell. Tears started to roll down her cheeks. Tears of frustration, of anger, of fear, of loneliness, of resentment... So many different emotions were fighting for her attention that she felt like she was going to burst. Her tears made her feel shameful. To cry when she needed to be strong.... "I really am useless. I'm weak. So stupid."

Her heart stung with the pain. She knew that life wasn't fair. But sometimes, she really wished it was. This day had sucked, and she wished that she had managed to stay that dispassionate person that she had become. It would have helped her retain her sanity. But the intimate experience with Zuko, followed by the brutal fight with her brother had made her normal confidence explode into millions of little pieces.

She lay on her side, and curled up into the foetal position. Even her tears had dried up. She was getting tired, and, away from the fire, the air in the cave was freezing. Pulling her knees even closer to her chest, she tried to keep warm. She knew that it was the only way that she was going to survive long enough for anyone else to bother to come get her.

* * *

----- Zuko POV -----

He was getting very close to giving up. However, as the wind picked up, he started to wonder as to how strong it would get. They were in a cave with many openings, which mean that it could end up acting like a funnel, and growing to unimaginable strengths. He tore his mind away from these dark thoughts of impending doom, and went back to scanning the ground in front of him, hoping to glimpse a tuft of white, or blue, telltale sign of the waterbending girl he had lost.

He was almost ready to turn back when he finally sighted a form lying on the ground. He doubled back to check if he had seen correctly. When he heard the heavy and trembling breathing, he knew that he had found her.


End file.
